Wish Fulfillment
by Jazz the Wolf Demon
Summary: Everyone has a wish. Thus there are the Jin, legendary creatures able to grant their master's fondest dream. One lovestruck paperboy is about to have all his dreams come true, and a few nightmares too InuKag
1. Wish 1

**A/N:** Welcome to my newest brain baby. Yes, yes, I know I promised Unknown—and that will be starting shortly—and I know I promised to finish CotG, but I have no inspiration for it. I am NOT abandoning it, I will just write on it when I have inspiration. Forgive me, and enjoy this new plot bunny instead.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or the idea behind Aladdin, all I own is this laptop and my dreams.

**Wish Fulfillment**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

7:53 am. 

She walked through the revolving glass door the same time every morning. The exact same time. 7:53 am. It was ingenious if one thought about it rationally. It gave her just enough time to cross the lobby, say hello to those she spotted, and ride the elevator to whatever floor she worked on.

He wasn't close enough to the elevator to ever see which button she pushed; he just saw her get on.

He saw her every morning, at the exact same time, Monday through Friday, and some Saturdays. Rain or shine; warm or cold. She would walk through that door and he would watch her from behind the counter.

They never spoke. She never had time to stop by at the newsstand located in the very center of the ground floor of the building, and he could never leave the counter unoccupied. He didn't know her name. In an office building like this there were no ID tags, and it was rude to ask customers information on another worker.

She was punctual, he knew that. Beautiful, definitely. But what had drawn him in was her smile, the way it just lit up the entire lobby whenever she nodded her morning greeting in passing. She was the highlight of his mornings, which had been painfully dull until her arrival.

Since he was sixteen, he had worked in the lobby newsstand and was there every morning at 6 am. Granted, now he owned the stand instead of just working there, but it still wasn't the greatest of accomplishments. He couldn't even get a real job in this tower if he tried, with his horrible high school grades and pitiful night school business degree. So the newsstand was the closest he could get to working in Higurashi Tower, and the closest he could hope to get to his dream girl.

Still, he was not the kind of man who dwelled on what he didn't have. Not when there were other things to be done. The bundles of Newsday and the Star Ledger needed to be unpacked. There were a few boxes of candy that should be put on the racks. He had to take inventory. There was a lot of work to be done. He didn't have the time to stop work and watch her. He didn't have time to think about her randomly in the middle of the afternoon! Even now, at the end of the day, she was on his mind. He didn't want to turn into some kind of stalker or pervert.

Guys didn't get crushes, did they?

"Hey, Boss."

No, he was much too old for anything like that. Twenty-four-year-old men did not get crushes.

"Boss?"

Or did they?

"Inuyasha!"

Quickly blinking out of his daze, he turned to face his assistant. "What?"

"Dude, I thought I lost you." Shippou grinned at him.

"You wish, punk," Inuyasha growled while narrowing his eyes. Shippou's smile only widened as he carried a bundle of newspapers behind the counter.

That was their relationship in a nutshell. "Come on," the boss continued with a loud sniff. "We've got work to do."

At first glance, Inuyasha Shiozu wouldn't fit the profile for your average newsstand owner. He had a brilliant mind for business, which was how he was able to afford buying the newsstand from his old boss when he was only twenty. Already he had doubled profits. His formal school left something to be desired, but for a boy who had been supporting himself since the age of sixteen, he fared very well. He was the kind of guy who could get places on a smile, but chose to work for it.

Physically, he was athletic. He was built beautifully, and had never lamented over the absence of female notice. His unusual gold eyes and silver hair had always made him popular. Exotic, was a phrase most used. That was why, at work, he usually wore a hat and downplayed his image.

Despite the rumors, pretty boys got about as much respect as pretty girls.

"Do I get paid today?" Shippou asked, piling a stack of newspapers on one of the shelves. The red-haired teenager was sporting a fresh shiner on his right eye. Probably the result of another fight after school from one of the gang recruiters always on his tail.

"After your shift is over," Inuyasha told him, opening the register for a customer.

"Good."

"When was the last time you ate?" Inuyasha asked casually, not looking at his employee as he lifted a few cases of soda that needed to be stocked in the fridge.

"Yesterday, at school," Shippou responded in the like. "Anne Marie slipped me some fries and a milk."

"Breakfast of champions," his boss grinned. "I can't believe Anne Marie hasn't been fired for slipping food to us strays yet."

Anne Marie was famous within the public school district for sneaking food to kids unable to pay for school lunches. She had been around since Inuyasha's delinquent days, and always had a soft spot for his breed.

"Someone's gotta feed us," the teenager shrugged. "So, by asking this, I take it you're buying me lunch?"

"Sure, kid."

In truth, Inuyasha could have managed the stand himself. He had done it nearly two years before Shippou happened along, and really had been doing it for his old boss. Myouga was never that involved with the running of the stand; he was usually too busy writing the great American novel. It might have taken longer for him to do things, but it would save him money, if he had no employees. He _could_ do it all himself, but he chose not to.

It was nice to have company. Even if that company was a snot-nosed, annoying runt.

Inuyasha and Shippou were the same in many ways. Both had grown up with lousy home lives. Both had lived on the streets for a time. Both had looked down for the count until someone had offered them a way out.

For Inuyasha, Myouga had offered him not only a job, but also a new way of life. He had dropped out of school, been homeless for months, and had nothing to his name when the old man offered him a job at the newsstand. This way, Inuyasha could live off of what he earned and go back to school. Myouga had offered him a chance at a future.

For Shippou, Inuyasha had offered the same thing. The gangly fifteen-year-old had been a dropout on the run from an alcoholic father, on the verge of joining a gang. Now Shippou was back in school, clean, and occasionally living with Inuyasha.

In the two years that had passed, they had become like brothers; fighting all the time, calling each other names, and always looking out for one another.

"You going to crash at my place tonight?" Inuyasha asked.

"Is that an invitation, or a question?" Shippou asked, grinning.

"Take it either way, I still need an answer."

"Sure, your couch is the best."

"I wouldn't know anymore, since it's been lost beneath the heap of your shit for weeks."

Shippou huffed, narrowing his good green eye at his boss. Inuyasha only grinned back, perfect innocence. "You're mean."

"I need a cup of coffee," a customer asked, drawing the pair out of their conversation. Standing at the counter was the head of building security, looking as aloof as ever. His badge and suit were both polished brightly, showing the pride he had in his job. There was a rumor floating around the building that he had been on the actual police force only two weeks, but then was let go after an injury sustained on the job.

"Sure thing," Inuyasha said, heading to the coffee machine. "Will that be a grande?"

"Is that some new flavor?" the security head asked.

Shippou snickered. "Large?" Inuyasha asked again, losing his coffee shop slang.

"Oh, sure!" He wasn't the brightest crayon in the box that was for sure.

"Here you are, Mr. Matoh," Inuyasha said, handing him the coffee. "That'll be $3.50."

"Actually, it's Officer Matoh, if you don't mind," he said with a vacant smile as he dug for his wallet.

"Sorry, _Officer_," Inuyasha corrected. First rule in business, the customer is always right. Even if they were dimwits and delusional like Hojo Matoh.

"Have a good day, sirs," he grinned, taking a deep drink of coffee before Inuyasha could warm him. Then he howled in pain after burning his tongue, and hurried off to the bathroom.

Inuyasha sighed, putting the money in the register. "Stupid rent-a-cops."

"I can't believe the Higurashi family hired such a retard to be head of security," Shippou commented. "Even if he _is _a friend of the family."

"You got some new dirt?" The newsstand was the new "water cooler" for company gossip.

"I heard a few suits talking about him," the teen explained, whispering with a smile. "He went to school with the Higurashi daughter, and she asked for him to get the job."

"Obviously she's not to bright herself," Inuyasha snorted. He looked at his watch. "Come on, Shippou. I'll buy you dinner."

"Score!" Shippou grinned, putting the "closed" sign on the counter. Inuyasha locked the register and they left to scrounge up some grub.

------------------------------

Kagome sat behind her desk, head leaning on her hand, playing solitaire on her computer. There wasn't much to do right now. All the morning files were filed in their color-coded drawers. All the calls were made, and since it was midday, not many were coming in. The CEO had been in meetings all morning, and probably would be all afternoon as well. There was nothing for her to do but wait.

It was some way to spend her birthday.

She glanced at the clock on her desk and saw that there was still another hour until work was over. Then she could limp home to her matchbox apartment and curl up in front of the television. Another fantastic night.

Kagome was a loner by nature, not for lack of attention. She had always been called pretty, or more commonly -- cute. She would be the first to admit she was no great beauty like her mother, but she wasn't without her charms.

She was also a hard-worker—work was never Kagome's problem. It was the fact that she was never good at anything. Sure she could make a grade or file a paper. She had enough determination for five people, but no direction. She had never found something she loved to do. So, like everything else in her life, her family stepped in to direct her.

The doors to the office behind her opened. Kagome quickly straightened herself in her chair and clicked the solitaire game off the screen. She pretended to scan some file or another as she watched the exiting people from the corner of her eye. Three be-speckled men in suits with briefcases, walked out of the large office, conferring with each other as they walked toward the elevator. Only this office was on the very top floor.

"Have a good day," Kagome called after them with a smile.

The three smiled in return on their way on to the elevator. That's the way it went in such circles. Cold and polite.

The phone rang from beside her. Kagome reached over and picked up before the second ring. "Mrs. Higurashi's office," she chirped.

"Kagome," a familiar female voice spoke. "Please come into my office."

"Coming," she responded, hanging up and rising from her chair. Kagome arranged her skirt, pulled on the wrinkles in her jacket, and entered the large office that belonged to the CEO of Higurashi Towers. Her mother.

"Darling," her mother smiled. "I'm sorry I had to work today."

"I had to work too," Kagome laughed, returning the smile. It didn't reach her eyes, but her mother didn't notice.

"Happy birthday," Mrs. Misaki Higurashi said, embracing her daughter warmly. Kagome returned it.

"Thank you."

"Come in, we have a lot to talk about. Please close the doors."

Kagome closed both wooden doors to the office while her mother made a call to the front desk, blocking interruptions for the rest of the evening, and asking someone to come up to the office. "What do we have to talk about, Mother?"

Misaki settled herself into the large chair behind her desk, the chair she had occupied since the death of her husband twelve years earlier. Kagome sat across from her, in one of the two service chairs. The two women faced each other with a kind of affectionate reserve. They were alike in looks, the same soft features and beauty. But Kagome had her father's hair and eyes.

"We had always hoped your father would be here to see this day," the CEO commented a little sadly. "He would want to be here."

"I wish Daddy was here too," Kagome commented, running her finger along the hem of her skirt. It was a nervous habit of hers.

"You'll have to forgive, and settle for just your grandfather and myself."

"Grandpa?" Kagome raised an eyebrow of doubt. Her grandfather hadn't set foot in the office building for ten years and hadn't been back in the city for nearly as long. After her father's death, Kagome's grandfather had taken a position as a roaming shrine representative. Just when she was about to say so, the doors opened, and her grandfather ambled into the room. "Grandpa!"

"Kagome," he greeted, smiling. She rushed from her chair to embrace him. He was older than she remembered, more wrinkled, a few more gray hairs and a little paler, but his smile was as strong as ever. And the happiness that shown in his eyes was enough to bring a true smile from her.

"Grandpa, I'm so happy you're here!"

"Happy birthday, sweetheart."

"Thank you." Kagome embraced him again, then led him to the other vacant chair. "Is this my present, Mother?"

"Not quite," Misaki said with a secretive smile. She looked to her father-in-law with question. He nodded a fraction. Misaki folded her hands in front of her, a kind of nervous anticipation setting into her. This was the day she had been waiting for since Kagome was born. The day her daughter would inherit the Higurashi family legacy. "Kagome, today is your twenty-first birthday." Kagome smile a little, a polite way of saying she was very aware of how old she was. "Today is the predetermined time to receive your inheritance."

"My inheritance?" Kagome asked, confused. She looked to her grandfather for clarification.

"It is tradition in our family," he explained. "When the first born child reaches twenty-one, he or she is to inherit the heirloom of our ancestors."

"Grandpa," Kagome said, feeling dread prickle along her spine. "This isn't going to be another kappa hand or something… right?"

He grinned at her and reached into the pocket of his robes. When he held out his hand to her, a small black box rested on his palm. It was polished wood and Kagome could feel a pulsing aura coming from it, something demanding her to take the box and open it. She reached out her trembling hand and took the box from his hand.

"Open it," her mother prompted excitedly. Since she was not born a Higurashi, she had never been able to inherit this artifact. Her late husband had given instructions that it went to Kagome alone, on her twenty-first birthday. As it should be.

Kagome traced the lid of the box before opening it. Nestled on a bed of velvet, sat a small silver ring. Kagome furrowed her brow, as she looked it over, picking it up with two fingers. It was warm to the touch, not cold like most metal. Set into the silver was a small pink jewel, like a diamond. "It's beautiful," she said, knowing that if she didn't say something, her mother would be anxious.

"Put it on," her mother instructed. Kagome had it poised over her finger, tempted to give in to the sudden and intense desire to put it on to her finger, when a reckless thought bolted through her mind.

"Oh my God," she whispered, looking at the ring in her hand. "I can't believe I didn't see it before."

"Kagome?"

Kagome put the ring back in the box and slammed it down on her mother's desk. "A ring, very clever, Mother," she snapped. All trace of politeness and warmth was gone from her face. "Is this a subtle way of telling me the wedding was moved up again?"

"This has nothing to do—" Misaki began, getting to her feet. Her own anger and disappointment surged.

But Kagome overrode her. "Isn't it enough that I agreed to this arrangement? Let me have my six months, Mother."

"Kagome, this is improper in front of your grandfather," her mother reprimanded sharply.

"You're right," she agreed. Kagome turned to her grandfather and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Goodbye, Grandpa. We can catch up later."

"Kagome—"

She didn't stop to hear her mother's excuses or her grandfather's denials. She walked through the doors, grabbed her coat from her chair and walked to the elevator. It didn't matter that her mother might very well fire her for this, and then she'd be unemployed—again. It didn't matter when they tried coming after her. She was not going to listen to this, not now. It was her birthday, dammit! And she was going to enjoy it.

"Kagome, hey," someone said as she stalked by. Looking up, she saw Hojo coming toward her. He was dressed in his finest and smiling as vapidly as ever. She smiled back, the best fake smile she could muster.

"Hey, Hojo," she greeted. "I'm in a little bit of a rush…"

"Oh," he sighed, disappointed. "I just, you know, wanted to wish you a happy birthday and all."

"Thank you," she said, smiling again. She patted his shoulder, then headed for the door.

"You're… welcome…" Hojo called after her.

It wasn't as though Kagome was rude on a daily basis. Far from it. She was usually polite and cheerful, everybody's best friend. It wasn't as though she disliked Hojo, either. They had gone through school together, and though he had always held a torch for her, she had never felt the same. When Hojo had been looking for work a year earlier, Kagome asked her mother and got him the job as Head of Security at Higurashi Tower. So it wasn't Hojo at all.

It was just Kagome being angry with herself for letting her family run her life. Again.

Now, Kagome wasn't in the practice of walking home from the office. There was always a car waiting for her at the end of the day, or at the very least, her mother's limo. But today, even the sight of her family's cars sent a wave of disgust through her. So she decided to walk.

The early March air was still freezing, especially after the sun set, so Kagome bundled herself up in her coat as snuggly as she could manage while keeping a brisk pace. Her anger fueled her, and the knowledge that anger wouldn't help her only made her angrier. It was a vicious, endless cycle.

Maybe it was because she was in this kind of mindset that she didn't notice her surroundings as well as she should have. Normally Kagome was an alert, observant person. But not tonight. Tonight, something would have to smack her in the face to get her attention. And that's exactly what happened.

She was grabbed from behind, a hand coming around to grab her mouth and stifle the scream. She did scream, and claw at the arm around her face, but the moment the cold edge of a knife was pressed against her throat, her struggles stopped.

"That's a smart girl," the attacker whispered. He had moved them off of the sidewalk and into a dark corner of a side street, under a broken streetlight. No one paid attention to this, since most people minded their own business.

Kagome's heart beat frantically, wondering if she was going to die at twenty-one. If she was going to die a virgin, without ever having told off her mother, and forever bereft of that platinum-screened television she had always wanted to buy.

Her attacker slid the strap of her purse from her shoulder, successfully removing her lifelines from her. "Jewelry, now," he whispered. His voice was smooth, almost kind, making a mockery of her fear.

Kagome's hands shook as she pulled the fake silver earrings out of her ears and tugged the small gold cross from her neck before handing them over.

"This it?" the attacker asked, sounding skeptical.

Kagome wanted to groan, and would have if she wasn't as scared as she was.

"Hey, what are you doing?" someone yelled from the other side of the street.

"Fuck," the attacker muttered, pushing Kagome away from him. She landed hard on her knees, clutching at her throat, as someone ran past her and after her attacker.

There was the sound of a brief scuffle and a few muttered curses from the darkness before someone emerged and came to her. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Yes," Kagome replied, thankful her voice was nearly steady. She looked at her fingers and was happy to see only the faintest trace of blood. A tiny cut, nothing serious. She sighed from relief, sagging slightly.

Her rescuer offered her a hand, which she promptly took, and found herself on her feet again. "Mugger, huh?" he asked.

"Bastard took my purse," she sighed. Credit cards, cash, cell phone… she'd have to call all the companies in the morning to report them stolen. Happy Birthday, Kagome.

"As long as you're okay," the rescuer shrugged. "Things could've been worse."

"You're right," she nodded, brushing the hair from her face. "I should be thankful." Then she looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, really."

He seemed to blink at her a moment, startled. In the semi-darkness, it was hard for Kagome to get a good look at him. All she could see clearly were his eyes. Big, yellowish eyes. "Don't mention it," was his reply.

"Do you always go chasing off muggers?" Kagome baited, wondering for a second why she was still having a conversation when she should be running to the nearest phone and calling the police.

"Sure, it's a hobby of mine," he retorted, sarcasm dripping from his words. Kagome laughed for the first time all day, and it made her feel a million times better. Her rescuer pulled on the front of his black knit hat, a kind of nervous action. "Is there anyone you could call for a ride home?"

Kagome thought about the company cars, the limos, and her mother riding in on a huge "I told you so" speech. "No," she informed him, shaking her head. "I can walk the rest of the way. My apartment is only a few blocks away."

He snorted at her. "You still want to walk home alone, in the dark? Didn't a mugging teach you anything?"

"Carry pepper spray?"

"No… what?" That made her laugh again. "Geez, you're an odd one, aren't you?"

"I'm allowed to be odd," Kagome said haughtily. She turned on her heel and began walking back to the lit sidewalk. "It's my birthday."

"Well, many happy returns then," he responded, following after her.

"Thank you." In the light, she saw him better. Tall, lean, and gorgeous. The kind mothers tell their daughters about—that kind of gorgeous. Totally-out-of-her-league gorgeous. And somewhat familiar. "Are you going to follow me home now?"

"Since you have no one to call, I humbly offer myself as your escort," he recited, hands in the pockets of his coat. Then he looked down at her and smiled. "For a modest fee."

Kagome's heart beat a little too fast, but she blamed it on post-traumatic stress. "I'm sure."

"But, seeing as how it's your birthday, I'll make it my present."

She smiled back at him. "So very generous of you."

"I'm a nice guy."

"I'm sure." Kagome pulled her coat up around her tighter, warding off the cold. "Some birthday this turned out to be."

"Ah, we all have bad luck," he offered, shrugging. "Let's just be thankful you got away to see another birthday."

"Yeah. Who wants to die at twenty-one?"

"Twenty-one, eh? Want me to treat you to a birthday drink? There's a bar around here somewhere…"

Kagome laughed. Third time, a record. "The last thing I need is alcohol right now," she grinned. "I just want to make it home in one piece."

"Then I promise, I will get you home in one piece."

"You really don't have to…" Manners were too ingrained into her being for her to ignore the proper etiquette, but she really didn't want him to go. He had a comforting presence, and she felt safe walking along with him.

"I want to," he assured her. "You're good conversation. Most of the time I have to talk to myself."

"And you call _me_ odd?"

"Touché." She had a pretty laugh. It was something he noticed the first time, so he was making an effort to keep her laughing. So far it was working, and he was reaping the benefits. "What did you do last year for your birthday?" he asked. "Granted, nothing can come close to this year's adventure, but humor me."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I ate a Carvel Ice Cream cake and sat around listening to my _Oasis_ CDs."

"Exciting."

"My family isn't big on the whole 'celebration' thing. But at least I don't have to deal with the whole ritual of returning bad gifts and such."

"True. That's a bonus to all of us party-impaired."

She looked at him from the corner of her eye, watching the small clouds of his breath in the streetlights. "You don't party either?"

"Nope. Most holidays I spend by myself."

He didn't seem broken up over it, and she wasn't either. Latchkey kids, the pair of them.

"Can I ask you something?" she inquired, tilting her head back to look at him. "Do you work in Higurashi Tower? You look familiar."

He looked a little startled. "I work… nearby," he explained.

"I've probably seen you around there," she nodded, as if she had solved a puzzle. She smiled up at him. "I never forget a face."

He stopped walking and looked a little closer at her. Kagome blinked, moving back a little. "I just noticed something."

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Your eyes are different colors."

Kagome felt her face turn red and dropped her head. Normally her bangs were long enough to cover up that fact, and she cursed herself for brushing them away. "Yeah… well, what can you do?" she said casually, moving on. "Genes, right?"

"They're pretty," he commented, trailing after. "Sorry if I offended you."

Kagome slowed and looked at him, then away. "You didn't offend me. It's just… embarrassing. My father was the same way. One green eye, one blue. It's recessive."

"I understand recessive," he grinned. "Gold isn't exactly your run-of-the-mill color either."

"Gold? Yellow is more like it."

"Are you making fun of me?" She laughed and he smiled. "What's your name?" he asked her suddenly.

Kagome paled, then felt the color surge back to her face at frightening speed. "Oh God, I'm such an idiot. How could I forget to introduce myself?"

"It's okay," he assured her. "Take your time."

"I'm K—"

"Kagome?"

Turning, Kagome saw the limousine parked at the curb in front of her apartment a few yards up the sidewalk. Her mother stood at the bottom of the front step, looking at her with worry and relief. Kagome felt the tug on her invisible leash.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was worried when you stormed out," she replied in a perfectly mother-like way. Then her eyes left Kagome's face for something over her shoulder. "Who's this?"

"My friend," Kagome commented. She saw the familiar tightening around her mother's mouth, the look of disapproval in her eyes. The lecture was imminent. "I'll be right inside, Mother."

"Alright," she said, eyes still on the man who had walked her daughter home. Then she turned and headed into the apartment building.

Kagome sighed and turned back to her rescuer. "I'm sorry. I didn't expect—"

"Christ," he breathed. "Your mother is Misaki Higurashi!"

"Yeah," Kagome commented. This was a common reaction.

"So you're a Higurashi?"

"Kagome Higurashi," she nodded. Next would come the rejection, or the fake niceness. She couldn't say which she hated more.

"I've… uh… got to go," he stuttered. "Bye, Kagome."

"Wait!" she called when he turned to leave. "You never told me _your_ name."

He didn't look back. "It wouldn't do you any good if I did." Then he walked off into the night and left her on the cold sidewalk, still shivering, purse-less, and about to face her mother alone.

Kagome was feeling angry, hurt, and lonely when she walked through the door to her tiny apartment. It was part of the deal she had with her mother, that if she lived away from the family home, she would have to pay for everything herself. Kagome accepted the terms, and loved her freedom. But that freedom was always in question whenever her mother randomly showed up on her doorstep.

"What can I do for you, Mother?"

"That was very childish this afternoon," Misaki commented, setting herself in on the second-hand couch. "You disappointed your grandfather."

"I won't agree to you moving up the wedding. I don't care what you say, I won't go through with it."

"Kagome, this has nothing to do with your wedding," her mother sighed. "It's still set for September."

Kagome eyed her mother. "Truthfully?"

"Yes. The ring was a birthday gift." Misaki sighed again. "It's part of your inheritance from your father. He stipulated in his will that you weren't to receive it until your twenty-first birthday, as per Higurashi tradition."

Kagome stripped off her coat and placed it on the rack by the door. "Where is Grandpa?"

"In the car," her mother responded. "He'll bring up the present, if you'll act like an adult and receive it properly."

"Yes," Kagome replied, sinking into a chair and feeling like a scolded ten-year-old. Misaki made a call to the limo and a few moments later, Kagome's grandfather was in her apartment. "I'm sorry about earlier, Grandpa."

"It's fine, Kagome," he assured her. "Would you like the ring now?"

"Yes," she responded, head down.

He handed her the box again. As before, Kagome felt a kind of jubilant excitement race through her once it was in her grasp. As she fingered the jewel on the ring, the room fell eerily quiet.

"Put it on," her mother whispered.

Kagome slid the ring on to her middle finger. When she held her hand away from her, to get a good look, it seemed as if the tiny pink jewel had caught the light and began to shine. But even when she moved her hand, Kagome saw the jewel continued to glow. And every second, the glow became brighter.

"Grandpa," she whispered, a little afraid. "What's happening?"

"It's working," Misaki whispered, elated. "It's really working!"

The ring suddenly flared so brightly, Kagome had to shield her eyes. When the light stopped and she looked up, a forth person was standing in the center of the room. The beautiful young woman, dressed in some kind of black and pink body suit, got to her knees in front of Kagome. Her hair, long and braided with pink cloth and gold coins, was a deep brown. Her eyes, when she turned them to look at Kagome, were a lavender shade of purple. There was a small black mark, like an S done in calligraphy, tattooed on her left cheek.

"I am Sango," she said in a kind voice. "How can I serve you, Master?"

* * *

**A/N**: Okay, this is the first chapter to my new series, _Wish Fulfillment._ It's loosely based off of a version of Aladdin I read a while back (not the Disney movie). You'll be able to see the differences the further I get into it. I really hope everyone enjoys this story because I am in love with the idea. Please remember to review so I know what you think! 


	2. Wish 2

A/N:_A special thank you to Stasia, for editing the chapter in a rush for me. I love you! _Hi readers! I'm glad I've gotten positive feedback for this story. It's been an idea of mine for a long while. I know there are a lot of Aladdin-esque stories floating around these days, but I swear this is a new and different version. I want to thank my two biggest supporters (Jay and Stasia) for encouraging me in this endeavor. And of course, my adored beta-reader, Cattykit, for all her hard work. (I can be lazy with my editing, hehe!)

**Solin:** No this isn't your normal genie-three-wishes-poofy story. This is more involved, and a lot more fun playing around with magic and the concept of Jin. It'll be good, you'll see. Stick around.

**Jurei:** Thank you! Truth be told, I've seen a fair shake of authors take on the role of writing a genie-ish story before and I'm not really being totally original in doing it too, but the idea wouldn't leave me alone. I love the idea of someone having anything they ever wanted right within their grasp. But can they really be happy? It's just fun!

**Nauriell:** Inuyasha's stand is a large circular structure in the very center of the ground floor of the tower. It's inside, kind of like the center hub.

**Lady Xiu Mei Phoenix:**I can't start the second part until the first is finished, dear reader. I'm still working on the epilogue. Don't worry, is coming. I'm making it a priority. I just wanted to start this too.

**knock-on-wood:** Muhahah! With this story, every chapter will leave you with more questions than answers -- at least until I feel like giving my climax. Unless it's a false climax. Muhahaha!

**Misunderstood-roker:** _Unknown_ will come out after _Unexpected_ is finished -- which it's not! Be a little more patient, lol. _Unknown_ will premiere soon, like...sometime in the middle of August. _Another Fighter's Story _won't be out for a while though, after the trilogy is done.

**Destinymanifested:** I've read a couple versions. The original, the Disney-fied, and another one that was written into a movie called _Arabian Nights._ The version I'm doing was inspired by that and the original, but it kind of arches off in a totally unique direction, mostly because I wanted to write in parts for other characters and I needed a plot that would last for over 10 chapters.

**Kittycat78:** After the conclusion of _Unexpected_, the next story is _Unknown_. I can give a ballpark figure and say _Unwanted_ will premiere sometime in the spring, but since I'm not sure how much time I'll have to write. It comes out after the conclusion of _Unknown._

**Disclamier**: I do not own Inuyasha or the idea for Jin -- they belong to their creators, respectively.

* * *

**Wish Fulfillment**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Kagura sat in the darkness. 

She could have turned on a light, if she wanted to, but she was more comfortable in the dark. Small, dark spaces were as close to home as she could get anymore. So she sat in the dark and thought about things. The past, the present, the future. When one spent time in small, dark places, they come to discover that thought and imagination are the things that must sustain them. A man can be a giant in the light, but in the dark, the mind is key.

The slamming of the front door heralded the end of her reverie, and Naraku burst into the room. She was momentarily blinded when he put the lights on and had to cover her eyes.

"Must you always keep this house like a crypt?" he snapped.

Already he was angry. She knew she shouldn't push his buttons to further that action, but she always went the extra mile. That was just part of Kagura's personality. "Must you always ask the same questions?"

He faced her then. Kagura still sat on the ground in the center of the large living room. Around her was expensive furniture, Italian leather and imported silks of the highest quality. Still, she opted to sit on the wooden floors, her legs crossed beneath her. Dressed as she always was, in a faded kimono with feathers in her short black hair, she simply looked up at him with ruby-red eyes. Eyes full of age and mockery. Just the sight of her infuriated him.

"You disgust me," he growled.

She had the audacity to smile up at him. "Then we feel the same for each other."

He lifted his hand, ready to let it fly against her soft skin as it had a thousand times before, but he held his temper in check. She would not get to him again, not tonight. He had too much planning to finish. He couldn't afford to play into her idle games. "If you weren't immortal, I would have killed you years ago," he told her. Naraku lowered his hand and moved away from her to a chair.

Kagura crawled across the floor on her knees, placing her hands on his knees and looking up at him. "You still need me, _Master_," she said in a deceptively sweet voice. "I am the source of your power." Kagura lifted one of her pale hands and brushed her fingers over the golden bangle on the arm of her master. It was beautifully made, crafted like a hundred tiny feathers interlocking in a band. In the very center of the bangle was a small pink jewel. When Kagura's finger brushed over it, it glowed faintly.

Naraku batted her hands away from him. "You belong to me, Kagura," he spat. "Not the other way around. Never forget that."

Kagura rose to her feet and bowed before him. "It is ever in the forefront of my mind, Master." She moved away from him, laying herself across a leather couch like a queen. She had given him all this, the home, the money, the expensive furniture. "I am but a Jin, a slave to the one who wears my bond."

Naraku chuckled, caressing the bangle lightly. "Such a hapless existence." Kagura gave him a look of pure hatred and it only made him laugh harder. "Oh, Kagura, you do make me laugh. Perhaps I will keep you, after I attain the Pendant."

Suddenly, Kagura perked. "Tell me, did you get the ring?"

"Ah-ah, Kagura." He smiled. "What did we talk about?"

Kagura bit into the inside of her cheek to keep from saying what she was so sorely tempted to. She knew if she cursed him, he wouldn't tell her, and this was more important than pride. So she gradually got to her feet. "Forgive me," she said slowly, venomously. She got to her knees and bowed forward. "Have you acquired the ring, my Master?"

"Very good, Kagura," he praised. Then he sighed, turning away from her. "No. She didn't have the ring."

Kagura swore, getting to her feet. "But she should have been given the Ring _today_! It's tradition. On the twenty-first anniversary of birth, the heir would inherit the Ring of Innocence."

"She didn't have it, Kagura," he repeated, his patience dwindling. "Perhaps you got the day wrong."

"Never," Kagura replied, insulted. "It has been this way for over a millennia. I can feel the awakening of another Jin as surely as I can feel my own."

"Dammit," Naraku swore. "I would have had more time to search her, but some do-gooder interceded. I only had enough time to escape."

"You should have let me come along," Kagura sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"There will be other chances to get the ring."

"If she has awakened the Jin, it will be far more difficult to simply take it from her," Kagura informed him.

"Once I have the knife, I will be strong enough to take the ring," Naraku responded, glaring at her.

"Don't you mean, after you have awakened the knife?"

Naraku's malice shown brightly in his eyes, – eyes as black as his heart. "You come very close to trying my patience, slave," he whispered.

Kagura lowered her head, biting her cheek again. "Forgive me."

"You know what your job is tonight, don't you?"

"Yes, Master."

"Then go do it. And I expect it to be done right this time. No exceptions."

Kagura bowed. The jewel on Naraku's bangle began to glow. "As you wish, my Master." And then she was gone.

* * *

Inuyasha walked the streets alone now, hands buried in the pockets of his coat. 

Half of him was laughing, that little sadistic part of him that cackled in a high-pitched voice at every bit of irony that hit him in the face throughout his life. Another part of him wanted to hunch over in defeat, at being caught as such a loser. And another, even smaller part of himself, just wanted to cry. Maybe not in that huge wailing, tears like waterfalls, kind of cry. Just that soul-wrenching, why me, kind of cry.

All that time he had spent daydreaming and fantasizing, all that time spent thinking about the girl who had become his ideal, and she turned out to be a Higurashi.

He shouldn't have been as surprised, the small sadistic voice rationed. Everything in his life was one big kick to the teeth. As hard as it was to believe, there had been a time when he could have actually been worthy of someone like Kagome Higurashi. His dad came from money, a lot of old money. His father had been in the process of setting up a trust fund when he was killed in a plane crash. Inuyasha had only been six, and barely remembered his father.

Since his parents weren't married, and his father hadn't finished changing his will at the time of his death, Inuyasha got nothing. The rest of the Shiozu family chose to deny his existence and banished him and his mother to a life of poverty. His mother did the best she could, but she had never been very strong in health. She passed away when Inuyasha was fifteen, and since then, he'd been alone and struggling to get by.

Someone like him had a snowball's chance in Hell to ever getting a girl like Kagome Higurashi.

It was unbelievably unfair.

Even more so when, no matter how many times he rationalized the situation, he couldn't stop thinking about her.

Kagome. Even her name was beautiful.

He should have seen it earlier, the similarity between the mother and daughter. How many times had he seen the pair of them cross the lobby and get into the elevator? Because they were never actually together before, he never made the connection in his head. But he saw it now.

He had been on his way back to the stand, to get Shippou's paycheck, when he saw her walking down the other side of the street. For a minute, he hovered in indecision between approaching her or not, but when he saw the guy in the shadows grab her, he never hesitated. Maybe he had a knight-in-shining-armor complex. Maybe it was just because of her.

The way she talked to him when he walked her home had given him a kind of false hope. Hope that she might have liked him, might have liked to get to know him better. Hope that she wouldn't care he was only a glorified paperboy. He wanted to believe that because she was the perfect girl, and he was nothing.

"Shit," he cursed, kicking an empty soda can on the sidewalk. "I'm such a loser."

In the end, what could he offer her?

And, shockingly enough, this line of thinking wasn't making him feel any better. Inuyasha took a deep breath, straightened his spine, and tried to force himself to feel better as he walked the last few blocks to his apartment.

Inuyasha lived in the Working District, a stretch of about twenty blocks, full of stores and shops. His apartment was over a Chinese Restaurant and a used book store that sold cheap manga. That way he could get dinner and reading material all while still in his pajamas. He loved living in the Working District, where rent was cheap and everything you needed was within walking distance.

From the corner of his eye, Inuyasha noticed a new store had moved into one of the vacant buildings on his block. The sign above the door read _Seven Wonders. _A large neon Open sign blinked in the window, beckoning. Normally, he would have kept walking, but curiosity made him want to go inside. If only to escape reality for a little while, clear his head. He only had $7 in his pocket, but there was no harm in looking.

A small bell jingled when he opened the door, and the overwhelming smell of burning incense made him sneeze twice. Once his eyes stopped watering, he was able to see that the store was filled with rows and shelves of antiques. Dusty artifacts from all over the world, piled on top of each other for space and light. It gave the tiny store an old world appeal, and only served to make Inuyasha feel poor since most antique stores sold things for obscene amounts of money.

"Welcome, young man," an old woman called to him from behind the counters. She was hunched and small, dressed in faded black clothes. Her hair was gray and in a bun. Just like all the stereotypical old women you find in shops like these.

"Hello," he greeted.

"Can I help you find anything?" she asked, coming out from behind the counter.

"Not really," Inuyasha said with an awkward smile. "I'm just browsing."

"Then perhaps I can help you," she offered, now at his side. "I happen to have a knack for finding a good fit."

"Fit?" Inuyasha was interested in spite of himself. This old woman had a way of talking that just drew him in.

"Everything in this store has a soul, young man," she explained with a smile. "It's my job to help people like yourself find the one thing in here that will bring out the best in them."

Inuyasha smiled, charmed. "Really now?"

"Come with me, young man. I'll get you fixed up." She tugged on the sleeve of his coat and nodded in the direction of another isle. Inuyasha followed as she poked around a few shelves. Every now and then she'd pause, hand him something, then shake her head and take it back. An old wooden box, a necklace made of animal teeth, a silk fan, all rejected. When they reached the back of the shop and still hadn't found anything, the old woman paused to think.

"Maybe nothing in this store is meant for me." Inuyasha shrugged.

"Nonsense," the old woman laughed, waving a wrinkled hand at him. Then she paused, a grin breaking out over her face. "I know just the thing!"

She scuttled behind the counter and seemed to slide open a case beneath the register. When she came back around to him, a dagger was in her hands. It didn't seem very impressive. The blade was dull and broken in some places. The binding on the hilt was frayed and the metal was rusting, but a small diamond-shaped stone sparkled brightly from where it had been encased into the metal of the blade at the hilt. That alone must have given it value.

"Yes, this is it," the old woman nodded. "Perfect!"

"There is no way I could afford it," Inuyasha sighed, disappointed. He wanted it, which was unusual for him who never wanted to spring money on anything.

"It is a gift," she said, holding it out to him with both her gnarled hands. "You are my first costumer, and for keeping an old woman company, I want you to have this as a gift."

"I couldn't," he responded, but his hands reached out against his will.

She smiled when his fist closed around the hilt. It was then that he noticed her eyes were a deep shade of red. "You have accepted it already."

"Thank you," Inuyasha said earnestly, looking at the dagger in his hands.

"You must be careful with that blade," the woman warned. "It has a soul. It breathes."

"I'll be careful, I promise."

"That's a good boy."

Inuyasha smiled and caught sight of his watch. "I have to get home!" he swore. "It got so late without my noticing."

"Run along then," the old woman laughed. "Take care."

"You too. Goodnight."

She watched him leave and disappear into the darkness of the night. That was when Kagura shed her disguise and sighed. She rubbed her hands together, hands that had just moments ago, held the Blade of Worth. Her master would be pleased, but she was not.

"Perhaps the four of us are not meant to be reunited," she whispered to the darkness; it felt cold and empty, much like the darkness that was the prison she had lived in for over a thousand years.

* * *

"Did you get my money?" 

It was the first thing out of Shippou's mouth when Inuyasha entered his apartment. The red-head sat on Inuyasha's couch, legs sprawled over the sides, with an open bag of chips on his chest. Inuyasha's eye twitched slightly at the thought of what living things were probably building a home between his couch cushions.

It also made him realize that after being gone nearly two hours, he never actually made it back to the building.

"It was already closed," Inuyasha lied, taking off his coat and hat before hanging them on the back of the door. "I'll give it to you tomorrow."

"Ok, I can mooch off you till them," Shippou grinned. Each chip was like a nail in Inuyasha's wallet.

"You know," the older of the two commented. "You've got a funny way of repaying someone for a favor."

Shippou only smiled again. Inuyasha chose not to reply, only stalked into the kitchen and came back a minute later with a piece of raw meat in his hand. Without a warning, he dropped the partially frozen steak on to Shippou's face. The teen yelped and bolted upright, knocking the chips to the floor.

Inuyasha felt that his reaction was worth the price of vacuuming the rug.

"Your eye is swollen," he said. "Keep that on for five or ten minutes."

"I have cow on my face," Shippou stated.

"Yes," Inuyasha agreed. "That's the price little boys pay when they fight other kids at school. Now keep that on."

Shippou grumbled as Inuyasha walked past him toward the closet, already going for the vacuum. He was about to make a comment about neat-freak idiots when something in the waistband of his boss's pants made him do a double-take.

"Dude! Why are you packing!"

"What?"

Shippou pointed to his waist. "Is that some kind of hunting knife?"

Inuyasha pulled the dagger out from his waistband and held it in his hand. "No, some old lady gave it to me."

The teenager only blinked at him with his good eye. "An old lady gave you a knife... What kind of _neighborhood_ is this?"

"Stop being dramatic," Inuyasha sighed. "I was in an antique store."

"So instead of getting my money, you went _shopping_?"

"No," the other shot back. "I was on my way home and just kind of wandered in. I told you, I'll get your check tomorrow."

"Well, I guess I could take that excuse at face value, seeing as how you are my boss and all."

"Thank you," Inuyasha commented dryly.

"So, what kind of piece did you get?" Shippou scurried from the couch, still clutching the meat to his face, and peered at the knife in Inuyasha's open hands. "Aw, it's not that great. It's old and rusty."

"It was in an antique store, of course it's old." Inuyasha shook his head and rubbed the pad of his thumb across the small jewel in the blade. "The woman told me that it has a soul."

"Yeah, and I bet it took a few in its day," Shippou scoffed. "It's not even sharp!"

Inuyasha ran his finger along the edge and suddenly jerked it away. A small drop of blood began forming and he popped the finger in his mouth. "Sharp enough, kid."

That's when the jewel in the dagger began to glow with a pinkish light. "What's it doing?" Shippou asked, the steak falling from his hands. On the plus side, his eye wasn't as swollen. On the bad side, he didn't care at the moment.

"I don't know," Inuyasha responded, feeling his own rush of fear. He tried to throw the dagger from him, but his hand wouldn't obey. It wouldn't let go, wouldn't move. The glow got brighter, and both newsstand workers covered their eyes. When the light faded, they were not alone.

"This place is appalling," a cultured voice commented.

A strange man stood in the room with them now. He was dressed like an old world monk of some kind, in deep violet robes and sandals. His hair was black, hanging in a shaggy way around his shoulders. His eyes were the same color violet that he wore, and they burned with intelligence...and disgust as he looked around the cluttered, chip-covered apartment.

Shippou was clinging to Inuyasha's arm with a death grip, ready to push his boss in front as a sacrifice as he ran to the door. Inuyasha just stood stock still, his mouth gaping.

"Who the fuck are you?" he finally managed to voice.

"What?" the strange man commented, as if forgetting they were there. "Oh yes, you must be my master."

"Huh?"

"I am Miroku," the newcomer stated, bowing formally. "I am a Jin, and your humble servant." Somehow, he didn't seem so humble.

"Well, Miroku...how the hell did you get into my house?"

Miroku yawned and looked around without finding anything to his liking. "How people can live in squalor..." he mumbled to himself as he waved a hand over a vacant space of carpet. Suddenly, out of thin air, a leather reclining chair appeared. Miroku happily lowered himself on to it. "Ah, much better."

Inuyasha and Shippou only cowered more.

"He...made a chair...poof and stuff," Shippou whispered in a high pitched squeak.

"Abra...kadabra...Sigfried and Roy...David...Copperfield..." Inuyasha stuttered.

Miroku watched them with a kind of amused smile, but he quickly went into a business-like mode. "I see that the bigger one of you holds the Blade. Are you the one who applied the blood to awaken me?"

Inuyasha blinked from the man in the recliner to the dagger in his hand. "I...uh...cut my finger, on the knife."

"Oh," the Jin exclaimed, surprised. "It was an accident." He chuckled and got to his feet again. "I must say, this...is your lucky day."

Inuyasha only creased his brow. "Lucky day?"

"I am a Jin, do you know what that is?" Miroku asked, moving a little closer to Inuyasha and Shippou. They both shook their heads. Miroku only smiled. This gave him an opportunity to flaunt himself, and he always enjoyed that. "I am what is commonly referred to as a "genie". I grant the wishes of my master, whoever holds my bond. You, good sir, are in possession of the Blade of Worth. As long as you have that, I belong to you. I will grant your fondest wish."

There was another broad moment of silence when Shippou and Inuyasha just gaped at Miroku, the knife, and each other, before doubling over in laughter.

"A genie, he says," Shippou howled.

"When is Barbara Eden swinging by?" Inuyasha joked back. They both laughed so hard there were tears in there eyes.

Miroku simply waited until they were finished, tapping his foot slightly. He was used to this, the different reactions. There were some who knew exactly what he was, and sought out his dagger specifically to find them. But every once in a while, someone bumbled along whom happened to possess raw skill enough to unlock his seal. They were either dim enough to believe him outright, or smart enough to doubt him.

They were intelligent, he'd give them that. But he hadn't been asleep nearly a century just to be awakened and laughed at.

"If the pair of you are quite finished..." he commented lightly.

Shippou and Inuyasha, sling-hanging on to each other in mirth, looked at Miroku with a new confidence. Miroku only smiled back before making their eyes widen in fear again.

Inuyasha's tiny, messy apartment suddenly fell away. In its place was a marble palace with wide, open rooms, walls covered with silk hangings, and a dozen tiny fountains. The kind of room fit for royalty. Miroku looked right at home as he looked at the surrounding. He knew it wasn't real, just a clever magical illusion of a place he had known long ago.

"You..." He turned to see the taller one, the one who had awakened him, staring at him with a strange expression of wonder and anxiety in yellow-amber eyes. "You really are a genie, aren't you?"

"Jin," Miroku corrected. "Genies don't really exist. The whole lamp...three wishes, flying carpet thing is pure fiction."

"This is unbelievable," he said, a smile starting.

Miroku smiled back. His new master was beginning to believe. "I believe the word you're looking for is _magical_, Master."

"I'm...your _master_?"

"That's the deal," Miroku replied with a nod. He waved a hand around him and the illusion broke, bringing them back to Inuyasha's apartment. "You broke my seal and woke me up. So I, and all the powers I command, belong to you. But I have to advise, there are rules."

"Of course there are," Inuyasha sighed, some of the magic gone. "When isn't there?"

"Magic, like all things, is bound to a world of rules, Master."

"Don't call me that," his master said, putting up his hands. "I'm Inuyasha, and this," he pointed over his shoulder with a thumb, "is my assistant, Shippou." The teen poked his head out to look at the Jin for a second before returning to his cowering. "That whole master-servant thing is not me."

"Very well then," Miroku commented, pleased in spite of himself. Perhaps this term wouldn't be so horrible. "Shall I inform you of the rules?"

"Fire away," Inuyasha commented. He took a seat on his couch, not even minding the crunch under his weight as weeks worth of stale snack food crumbled beneath him. The dagger sat on his knee, beneath his hand.

Inuyasha wasn't a completely open-minded individual. He was stubborn and, a lot of the time, very self-involved with his own affairs. But this time, with this situation, it was either accept or go crazy.

"As I said, he who holds my dagger, holds me. Or more, appropriately, my power. You woke me, so I am bound to you until your death or until my own release. There is no limit of wishes, great or small." Miroku sat himself down in his recliner again, happy to stretch and rest weary bones.

"Unlimited wishing," Shippou commented, sitting on the floor beside the couch. "Sweet."

"Yes, but there are a few things that I cannot do. Unlimited wishes or not."

"I thought genies were supposed to be all-powerful," Shippou commented.

"I'm a Jin," Miroku reminded. "And there is only one of us who is all-powerful. I'm not him."

"Where is the all-powerful guy?" Inuyasha asked, leaning forward. "He in a knife too?"

"No," the Jin answered, looking uneasy. "He has been sleeping for nearly a thousand years. No one can wake him, so you'll have to deal with me and my limited powers."

"What are the limits?" Inuyasha asked, already feeling the blind and giddy excitement rising in him. The kid-on-Christmas-morning feeling.

"Firstly, I can't change human emotion," Miroku explained. "Love and hate, compassion and ignorance, are things bound to a human soul. Magic can tamper with the physical and sometimes the mental, but not the soul."

"Makes sense," Shippou allowed with a nod.

"The second goes along with the first, about the soul. I can't kill or create life. I can make illusions, phantom animals or flowers, but nothing sustaining. Nothing living."

"So, if I wished for a horse, you couldn't give it to me?" Inuyasha asked.

"Not directly," Miroku told him. "I could give you the money and accommodation for you to purchase a horse, but I can't snap my fingers and make one appear."

"Disappointment..."

"Thirdly," Miroku continued, "I can't change time. History can't be tampered with, and I can't go to the future in case you wanted a time machine. All I can do is affect the present in the hopes of a better future."

Shippou snapped his fingers. "Dammit, once again I am cheated out of my plans."

"What were you scheming?" Inuyasha asked, ready for a hair-brained idea.

"Well," the teen replied, poking his fingers together, "it's always been my dream to have a time machine and go back to 1980, the world premiere of _The Empire Strikes Back_."

"The _Star Wars_ movie?"

"Yeah, I always wanted to run in during the opening credits and shout 'Darth Vadar is Luke's father!'."

Inuyasha smiled and shook his head. "You're fucked up."

"Like you wouldn't have gone with me!" Shippou fired back.

Inuyasha relented; he would have gone.

"I guess that's about it," Miroku commented when they were finished. He rubbed a finger along his chin. "Time, soul...yeah. I can do everything else."

Inuyasha and Shippou just looked at each other, grinning. "This is incredible. Anything we can ever wish for..."

"Right at your fingertips," Shippou grinned. "Oh, Inuyasha, wish for a bigger place! Wish for a million bucks!"

"I don't want to squander my wishes!"

"You've got unlimited wishes!"

"Maybe I should wish for a bigger place, or a million bucks..." Inuyasha commented to himself thoughtfully.

"I just said that!" Shippou howled.

Miroku watched with a bemused smile. Yes, this term wouldn't be so bad at all. In fact, he might even enjoy being on the outside for a while. Who knew, he might even be able to find _her_ while he was out.

"Ok, Miroku, we've got our first wish," Inuyasha said with a grin. Shippou's mirrored it.

Miroku rolled up his sleeves, pulled back his hair, and got ready for a long night.

* * *

Kagome was not a girl who lightly gave way from her senses, but the second a woman knelt at her feet and called her 'Master', her senses flew. And all she could do was scream. That blood-curdling, high-pitched scream that could break a window. 

She scrambled back from her chair, falling over in her haste, and tripped a few times. Her mother and grandfather looked at her as if she had two heads, but she didn't care.

"That the _fuck is going on_?" she screamed.

"Calm down, Kagome!" her mother yelled, as shocked as she was upset. "You're embarrassing us in front of the Jin."

"The...the what?"

"Jin," Sango said, getting to her feet. "I'm sorry that I frightened you."

"Who _are_ you? How did you get into my apartment?"

"I am Sango," she repeated. "I am a Jin, and the ring you wear on your finger is my bond. As long as you wear that, I and all of my power is at your command, Master."

"Why do you keep calling me that? I'm not your master! I'm not even my own master!" Hysterics, another thing Kagome was not familiar with. Oh, she was having an anxiety attack.

"Perhaps it is best I speak with her alone?" Sango asked, addressing Misaki and her father-in-law.

"I think that is best," Kagome's grandfather nodded. "Our being here will only interfere with Kagome's adjustment to her inheritance."

"I'm not leaving. This is a family gift."

"Misaki, we have placed a great burden on Kagome," he explained, taking her arm. "I think it best we allow her to enjoy the rest of her birthday, while she can."

"This is insane! Who will explain everything to her..." Misaki's protests could be heard from the street, but Kagome was too busy cowering in the corner to care.

"Forgive me," Sango said, crouching down on the floor a few yards from Kagome. "I always hate that entrance. And I hate it more when you are not prepared for my arrival."

"What are you?" Kagome asked, wiping the tear trails from her cheeks. With her mother and grandfather gone, she had stopped shaking, but she was still afraid.

"I am a Jin." Sango smiled kindly and pointed to the ring. "That is the Ring of Innocence. The jewel, it's magic. When I sleep, that is where I go. Whenever a pure-blooded Higurashi comes of age, and places that ring on, I am awakened."

"So...you're my inheritance?"

Sango smiled again, even more kindly. Kagome felt herself relaxing. "You could say that. My ring has been passed down in your family for almost a thousand years."

"The Higurashi family has been around that long?" the young heiress asked, eyes wide.

"The family has changed names many times over the centuries, but one thing remains." Sango offered Kagome her hand, which the other took and they both rose to their feet. "The eyes."

Kagome widen hers. "You mean, the two-toned thing?"

Sango nodded. "Only a pure-blood has your eyes. And only a pure-blood can wear the ring. It was part of my sentencing."

"Sentencing? You mean, like imprisonment?"

"Something like that." Sango smiled a little sadly. "It's your birthday, isn't it?"

"Yes..."

"What would you like to eat? Anything you want, and it's yours."

"Really?" Kagome asked. Magic, real magic, was in her living room. "Well, I'd kill for a hamburger."

"With pickles?"

"Naturally."

"Coming right up, Master."

Kagome frowned. "Do you have to call me that, Sango?"

"What would you rather me call you then?" the Jin asked, looking genuinely surprised.

"Just...Kagome." Magic rings, a secret family inheritance, a butchered birthday and a scared-off prospective friendship. She could handle all of that with a burger in front of her and lots of calories pumping through her bloodstream, about to congeal into the ounce of fat her mother would suggest she lose before her wedding. Yeah, she could even deal with her mother for a hamburger. "Just call me Kagome."

"Kagome it is," Sango replied. They could talk rules and responsibilities later. This had been a very long night.


	3. Wish 3

**A/N:** Yes, here we are! I'm off and running with this story, aren't I? Can't help it, the idea is just so awesome in my brain that I must keep going! I really hope everyone is enjoying this as I go along. Thanks for the reviews and encouragement. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha. I own very little, you see. But if I had a Jin, you could bet I'd have a shitload of stuff!

* * *

Wish Fulfillment

Chapter 3

* * *

Kagome sat in the living room of her matchbox apartment, a hamburger dripping with ketchup and pickles clutched in her hands. She had taken a few bites and was in the middle of chewing one at the moment, as well as contemplating her situation. This was definitely the kind of thing that needed to be thought about over a hamburger.

If there was one thing Kagome was, it was realistic. She accepted and adapted, that was just the way she was, and always had been.

Growing up, Kagome knew she was a disappointment to her family. She wasn't pretty enough to be stupid, and she wasn't smart enough to be ugly. She had never been a good athlete, or a talented artist, or a romantic poet, or a grand musician, or even a gifted cook. She had no talent that excelled any other, and it frustrated her as much as her family. If she had just been good at _something_, then they would get off her back and allow her some kind of freedom.

So she studied during school, putting her social life on the back burner in favor of her grades and books. She took college classes during the summer, saving up credits so that she only had to go for two years instead of four to get her bachelor's degree. But try as she might, the moment she was out of school, she was like a fish out of water. She could do nothing to please her mother, nothing to earn her brother's respect. She could do no right.

Kagome the screw up. Kagome the black sheep.

In truth, Kagome didn't have to worry about dating or boyfriends, because that aspect of her life, like most other things, had been taken care of for her. She didn't have to worry about friends much either, since they were never in short supply. People always wanted to be your friend when you were the richest girl in the city. In the state, even.

All of her life she had been told that the Higurashi fortune, the legacy, was based off of hard work and strong worship. But it had been a lie. All the stories about hard work and perseverance, all the speeches about talent and know-how, were bald-faced lies. The Higurashi empire was built on the back of a Jin. One pretty genie girl, who now stood in Kagome's kitchen, preparing another hamburger.

"So," Kagome called to Sango, "you cook the old fashioned way, huh?"

"Yes," Sango called back. She returned to the living room, carrying a second hamburger and a tall glass of cherry coke. Kagome's favorite meal. "I conjure the food itself, but I always enjoyed cooking."

"Thanks for the food."

"Of course, Kagome," Sango smiled, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"You can sit on the furniture," the heiress offered.

"It's more comfortable on the floor," Sango informed her. "It stretches my muscles."

"You've been asleep for a long time?"

"Since your father's death," the Jin said, looking at her hands. "It is one of the rules. When the one who holds my bond dies, I return to my slumber until the next heir comes of age."

"Daddy's been dead for over ten years," Kagome mused, more to herself than Sango. "That's a long nap."

"Oh, I've had longer," Sango said with a sad smile. "But unlike other Jin, I have a regiment. I awaken every generation. Most Jin can go hundreds of years without being woken." There was something in the depth of her lavender eyes, a kind of sadness that pinched Kagome's heart. "I get to see sons and daughters grow and prosper," Sango continued, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind Kagome's ear.

"You've been around for a while?"

"What year is it now?" Sango leaned back, taking her hand away from Kagome. She still looked sad, and now a little guilty as well.

"2005," Kagome filled in.

"Incredible," the Jin snorted. "I'll be 1,173 years old this summer."

"Wow," Kagome breathed. "To have lived that long…"

"Well, I leapfrog through time," she reminded, running a hand through her hair. She would pause every once in a while to unbraid the coins and frills that had been part of her outfit. "Awake for fifteen years, asleep for twenty. Sometimes longer, if a true heir is absent for a generation or two. Sometimes I never sleep between masters. It all depends."

Kagome took a few more bites from her burger and looked at her Jin. "It must be really sad, to see so many people die after being with them for that long."

"Sometimes," Sango agreed. "Many of my masters were kind, wonderful people. Others, as horrible as it makes me, I was glad to be rid of."

"That's just human," Kagome shrugged. "You hate the pricks and love the good people."

Sango looked at her oddly for a moment, then smiled. When she smiled now, there was no sadness in it. "You are very much like your father."

"Really?" Kagome asked, leaning forward eagerly. "Grandpa says I'm like him a lot, but I don't think so."

"You are," Sango assured her. "You talk the same, very plain. There's no cunning or deceit. The pair of you only spoke the truth, what was in your head and heart."

Kagome smiled and her whole face brightened. Sango liked the change very much. "I wish I could remember more of what Daddy was like," Kagome confided. "I was only ten when he died. I remember the good stuff, about how he'd take me to the park or help me with my homework and how he taught me to ride a bike, but I don't remember much about him as a person."

"I do," Sango replied. "He was a very kind-hearted man, and he loved your family very much. Your mother, brother, and grandfather were always in the forefront of his mind." The Jin tilted her head and gave her mistress a curious expression. "He never worried about you though. He always had such faith in you."

Kagome snorted and shook her head. "Daddy… He always believed I was meant for great things."

"You don't believe it?"

"Well, my mother can run an entire corporation by herself," the young heiress explained. "My brother is the top of his class in an Ivy League school, already being approached by several huge corporations for future jobs even though he's only eighteen. He wants to take over all of our foreign business once he graduates. Grandpa is spiritual, and works very well with people and worship. And Daddy… was a dreamer. He had such vision and plans, which Mother could turn into anything."

"You don't think you have a place," Sango deduced.

"I'm not a business woman," she replied. "I always had to work twice as hard in math than anything else. Numbers and me equal pain and sorrow. I'm not very good with people. I just have no skills, and it disappoints my family. I feel like a failure because I can't come up with a career."

"You need a career to be happy?" Sango asked, cocking her head in the other direction. "I have a career, of sorts, and it's not all that wonderful."

"You don't understand," Kagome sighed. "It's not just the career. My family controls everything I do because I can never do anything good enough. I'm the heir, the first born, the pure blood. I'm the one who has to marry well, take over the company, live up to family standards and produce more pure blood heirs." Kagome, attacked by a bitter spirit, tossed what was left of her birthday dinner down and pushed it away from her. "My mother decided about three years ago that since I have no good skills or potential, my redeeming quality would have to be my children, so she arranged for me to become engaged to the son of another wealthy and influential family."

"You have an arranged marriage?" the Jin asked, surprised. She had thought such things were abolished years ago.

"It wasn't supposed to happen until I was twenty-five, after I had graduated college and established myself. Then, Mother decided it wasn't soon enough and moved it up until I was twenty-two. But when I graduated college early, last summer, she decided to set it for this fall." Kagome swirled the ice in her glass with a straw. "My wedding is on the tenth of September. Six months from today."

"Your father never mentioned to me an arranged marriage," Sango said matter-of-factly.

"My father wouldn't have agreed to it. I shouldn't have agreed to it."

"You agreed?" Sango was thunderstruck now.

"Of course," Kagome laughed sarcastically.

"If you dislike the idea, why go through with it? It's your life, and in today's world, a woman has many choices."

"Because our families want it," the heiress explained. She looked past Sango, past her apartment. "I was always taught that family was the most important thing in the world."

Sango's eyes darkened. "Yes, it is."

"Do you have any?"

"What?" the Jin asked, not paying full attention as she cleaned up what was left of the meal.

"Do you have any family?" Then Kagome laughed a little. "Are all Jin related, or are you the only one left, or what?"

"Oh, I'm not the only one," Sango readily replied. "There are only four of us now, but we're not related by anything accept magic." The pretty Jin moved into the kitchen, discarding the leftover food before returning and sitting once more. "There was a time when Jin were common possessions of the wealthy and titled, but they dwindled as magic dwindled. Like dragons and pixies, demons and faeries, the Jin faded out into legend. Until we became genies and were almost forgotten."

"Terrible," Kagome whispered, enthralled. She had a kind of morbid fascination with things of legend and magic. Things that couldn't be real. "Humans ruin everything."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Sango commented. "You see, I—"

The doorbell interrupted her in the middle of a sentence and Kagome turned to the door. "Hold that thought," she said, smiling apologetically. Lazily, she climbed to her feet and walked toward the door.

"Kagome," Sango called out. The other turned toward her. "It is only a suggestion, but I must request that whomever that is, you not tell them about me." There was a brief flicker of fear and trepidation in her lavender eyes, in the muscles of her face.

Kagome's smile, so innocent and sweet, banished the doubt. "Of course I'd never tell anyone without your permission, Sango." Then Kagome went to answer the door.

Standing on her doorstep, a bouquet of yellow roses in one arm, was an attractive man in his early twenties. His hair was black, neatly held back at the nape of his neck. It was a small rebellion against the jacket-and-tie world he grew up in. His eyes were big and blue, and filled with delight when he saw Kagome.

"Hey, birthday girl!"

"Kouga!" Her squeal was one of pure, undiluted joy. Flowers aside, and not caring that she was going to wrinkle his well pressed suit, Kagome launched forward and into his arms. "It's so good to see you."

"You think I'd miss your birthday?" he laughed, returning her embrace with a bear-like hug. "I would have been here earlier but I had to work."

"I was working before too." They pulled back from their hug, grinning at each other. "Come in. I'll get you something to drink."

"I'll hear none of that on your birthday," he said, following her inside. He had picked up a small box that was resting by his feet as he closed the door behind them. "We've much more important manners to attend to."

"Such as?"

"Presents," Kouga grinned, handing her the flowers he held in one arm.

"My favorites," Kagome told him, happily accepting the roses. "Oh Kouga, how did you ever guess?"

"I get you the same bouquet every year," he laughed. "You always say the same thing, and I know that you hate roses, and only tolerate these because you love me so much."

Kagome giggled at the truth of it and carried her flowers into the kitchen. "Where's Ayame?"

"Working," he shrugged. "She's really gun-ho on getting ahead on her tuition payments, so she's working as much as she can."

"Ah," Kagome sighed. "I have to go visit her soon."

"She'd enjoy it," Kouga added, following her into the kitchen.

"Yeah," she nodded, then brightened. "Let me just find a vase for these. Have a seat, take a load off."

"I can't stay long," he said in his disappointed kid voice. "Dad's got me burning the midnight oil."

"That's okay. The fact that you're here at all means a lot."

"You're my best friend, Kagome," Kouga told her seriously. "I would move mountains for you."

Kagome stopped her ministrations long enough to give him another hug. "Same here."

"Even if you are an idiot," he added.

"Well at least I'm not an asshole."

"Beats a twiggy bitch."

"Brainless crotch."

"Hobag."

"Manslut."

"_Girl_."

Kagome gasped. "I know you didn't just call me a girl."

"Oh, I so did," Kouga replied.

They were both deadly serious for a moment, then they broke into a chorus of laughter. "Oh man," Kagome giggled. "I really needed this." No matter what, Kouga could always make her laugh.

"Glad I could brighten your day." Then something over Kagome's shoulder caught his eye and he looked up. "Oh, hello."

Kagome turned and saw Sango lingering in the doorway between the kitchen and the bedroom. "Hello," she replied, carefully averting her eyes.

"I didn't know you had company, Kagome," Kouga told her.

"I was too busy entertaining you," she complained. "But you're right. Kouga, this is Sango. Sango, I would like to introduce Kouga Kasumi." To Kouga she added, "Sango is a new friend of mine, so be nice."

"I'm always nice," he pouted, then moved forward to shake Sango's hand. "It's a pleasure."

"Likewise," Sango smiled.

"Nice ink work."

It took Sango a moment to realize he was talking about the mark on her cheek. With her free hand, she touched her face and smiled kind of awkwardly. "Thank you. S for Sango."

"Did it hurt?" Kouga was a fan of piercings and tattoos, always having wanted one, but never being able to because of his family's strictness.

"A little," Sango told him, but smiled again. "Not anymore."

"Kouga, you're staying for cake," Kagome ordered, moving to the fridge. The moment had taken on a tense feel, so she did her best to lighten the mood. "This calls for cake. Sango, would you help me? Kouga, you can go take a seat in the living room. We'll serve you."

"Two women in the kitchen," Kouga said as he walked into the other room. "A man can get used to this."

"Shut up," Kagome laughingly called after him. Sango came over to her and she smiled. "Thought it best we go over a few things before a social situation."

"I appreciate it," Sango smiled. "He seems a nice fellow, though."

"Oh yeah, Kouga's the best." Kagome reached into her tiny freezer and pulled out a small ice cream cake. "If we weren't such great pals, I don't think I could have agreed to the wedding."

"_He_ is your intended?"

"Uh-huh," she said with a shrug, digging up three bowls and a knife to carve the cake. "I've known Kouga all my life, since our families have always been business associates. My mother wants this marriage to be a kind of merger, so she can gain some control over their company while ensuring my future at the same time. Kouga is very good at what he does, and would make a wonderful CEO of Higurashi Tower. If he wanted to be, that is."

"He doesn't?"

"Not really. Neither of us really had much of a choice in what we do for a living."

"You speak of it so casually," Sango pointed out. "If you despise it so much, why not fight for freedom?"

"That's just the thing," Kagome replied, spooning cake into the bowls. "Neither of us has any better idea."

"Such a pity." Kagome didn't hear her.

"So what shall we say as an explanation of your being here?" Kagome asked, licking her fingers as she put the cake away again. "We work together?"

"That seems like as good an explanation as any," the Jin said with a nod. "But, what do you do?"

"I'm a secretary," the heiress replied, bowls in hand. "For my mother."

Sango watched as she walked back into the living room, serving her fiancé ice cream, and laughing at something he said. She seemed like such a happy girl, but Sango was all too aware of the fact that her smiles were fake, and her eyes were dark.

"I've got to head out," Kouga said after a while of banter. The three of them sat together on the floor of Kagome's living room, cake bowls piled in the center, shoeless and smiling.

"Aw, so soon?" Kagome asked, crestfallen.

"Midnight oil," he reminded, getting to his feet. "Sorry, honey."

"It's okay," she assured him, a little disappointed. "I just love your visits so much."

"I love making them. Call me this week, and we'll have dinner. You too, Sango," he added with a smile at her.

Sango smiled back. "We'll see."

"Oh, I forgot," Kouga exclaimed, moving toward the door. "I never gave you your present."

"Weren't the flowers…" Kagome trailed off as he handed her a box with holes punched in the top. "You _didn't_!"

"Ayame helped me pick it out. Open it," he grinned.

Kagome placed the box on her couch and opened the top. Her face reflected excitement, then utter joy at what lay inside. Reaching in, Kagome pulled out a small white and brown kitten. All round and fluffy, with big green eyes. "Oh, Kouga! He's adorable."

"I saw him and thought of you," Kouga chuckled. "All awkward moving and perfectly charming."

"You flirt," Kagome laughed, giving him a one-armed hug. "Thank you."

He returned it. "Happy twenty-first, beautiful. I'll see you soon."

With that, he took his leave. Kagome slid on to the floor, holding her birthday present on her lap reverently. "I always wanted a cat," Kagome told Sango, looking up. "My brother is allergic, so I couldn't have one growing up."

"I had a cat once," Sango commented, off-handed as she rubbed the tiny kitten's ears. "What will you call it?"

"Buyo," Kagome said without pause. "I always wanted a cat named Buyo." She held up her kitten and kissed his nose. "I'm going to get you really fat and cuddly. How about that?"

He mewed and Kagome melted. Sango laughed. "It's a good thing you got one for a present then. I wouldn't have been able to get you one."

"Even if I wished for it?"

"I think now would be a good time to explain the rules, don't you?"

* * *

"Kagome, is there _cat hair_ on your jacket?" her mother asked when she walked into work the next morning. 

"Yes," Kagome replied. She removed her jacket, hung it on the small rack beside her desk, then took her seat at her desk.

"Why is there cat hair on your jacket?" her mother asked, tapping a heeled foot at her daughter as she hovered over Kagome's desk.

"Because I was given a kitten as a birthday present," was the daughter's explanation.

"From who?"

"What does it matter, Mother?" Kagome asked. "I don't live at home, it won't bother Souta."

"Who gave you a cat?" Misaki repeated.

"Kouga," Kagome relented. It wasn't worth a headache.

"Oh." Her mother would never object to a gift given by Kouga, since it helped their bond, which in turn, helped her mother's business plans.

"Anything else?"

"Everything went alright with the Jin?"

"Sango has explained everything to me, in detail." She was being tight-lipped, which her mother hated. But her mother deserved it. Kagome was filled with uncharacteristic resentment, harbored especially toward her mother, who had never bothered to mention in twenty-one years that the Higurashi fortune was gained by magical means.

"Very good."

"Is that all?"

Misaki sniffed, but decided this was not the time or the place to engage in a screaming match. "I have conference downstairs until noon. A prospective investor should be arriving round that time; we have a meeting. If I'm not back before he gets here, make him comfortable until I'm finished."

"Yes, ma'am."

Without another word, Misaki turned on her heel and went to the elevator and disappeared to one of the offices below. Kagome let out a breath of relief. For all the love she had for her mother, she had more annoyances. It was almost a blessing that there was a large stack of papers on her desk, waiting to be filed. It gave her something to concentrate on, other than the last day's events.

She didn't realize how late it had gotten until the elevator dinged, signaling someone's arrival. Knowing how late her mother's conferences usually ran, she doubted it was the CEO. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a man step off the elevator. He held a newspaper in front of his face and a briefcase in one hand.

"Mrs. Higurashi is in a conference right now," she said, going back to her filing cabinet. There was one sorting case left, way on the top, where she could never reach it. Her mother's last secretary was a man, and fairly tall. "She should be returning shortly, so please feel welcome taking a seat."

"Thank you," he responded.

Kagome stood on the tip of her toes, stretching for the case. The tips of her fingers could just touch it. She was contemplating just standing on her desk chair to reach it, even if it was embarrassing to stand on a chair in a suit mini-skirt. Then the decision was taken from her when an arm reached up to grab the filing case for her.

"You seemed to be struggling."

"Thank you," she said, turning. Then her mouth dropped open in surprise. "It's you!"

"I'm surprised you remember me," he replied, smiling. Golden eyes, teasing grin. It was Mr. Gorgeous back to rescue her from high cabinets. Only difference was that he was in a pressed suit and no hat. He had silvery-white hair that looked natural.

"It's a stupid girl who forgets someone who saves her life," she replied, smiling back.

"I'm glad to see you're alright. Did you report your cards stolen and everything?"

"Yeah," Kagome told him, taking the filing case from his hands and putting the last of her manila envelopes inside. "I stopped at the police station this morning and filled out the paperwork."

"Then its back to the grind stone, eh?"

"Of course." There was a pause for a moment, in which Kagome decided was the perfect moment to start gushing. "I really have to thank you again for what you did, for walking me home and—"

"Really, its okay."

"Not a lot of people would help out a total stranger," she told him. Her big green and blue eyes were earnest.

"I'm old-fashioned, I guess," he said with a shrug. "Can't help but save a pretty girl in trouble." She blushed and he smiled.

"Thank you again."

"It was my pleasure."

There was another, somewhat awkward pause, where Kagome tried desperately to think of something intelligent to say when all she could think of was more gushing. "Are you thinking of investing with our company?" was the first logical, neutral question she could think of.

"Yes," he nodded, hands in his pockets. It was a gesture made out of nervousness, a sign of him being shy. Kagome found it cute and smiled brilliantly.

"I'm happy you think we're worth it."

"I think you're completely worth it," he said earnestly. Then, realizing he'd said something wrong, he quickly continued. "I've been admiring the Higurashi company for a long while, and I thought now was a good time to make my presence known."

Kagome opened her mouth to say something when the elevator dinged again, the doors opening to reveal her mother. Misaki looked worn, as if her conference did not go well, but she forcibly brightened herself to meet with a new investor.

"Mr. Shiozu?"

He turned, smiling. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Higurashi."

"Welcome," Misaki welcoming, crossing the room to shake his hand. "I hope you didn't mind waiting."

"Oh, not at all," he replied. "Your assistant was very accommodating."

Kagome smiled hopefully, but her mother only nodded at her briefly before turning back to the investor and ignoring her daughter again. "Oh, she's a good worker." Kagome wasn't really disappointed, just a little annoyed. What she was really surprised by was the fact that her mother didn't recognize the man she was talking to was the same man she dismissed only the night before on the front step of her daughter's apartment.

"Shall we go into my office?" she asked him.

"By all means," he replied. He picked up his briefcase and made to follow Misaki into her office, but just as the CEO disappeared into her office, he turned back to Kagome and handed her a small business call. "If you need rescuing again, just give me a call." He winked and disappeared. Kagome clutched the card in her hand, then looked down on it. _Inuyasha Shiozu_ was handwritten on the top of the card, along with his phone number.

For the rest of the day, no matter how bad things got, she couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

"How'd it go today?" Shippou asked Inuyasha when he got home. 

Only home wasn't the same as home was before. It was the same three-room apartment in the Working District above the Chinese restaurant and the bargain bookstore, only the inside looked like a palace. Sparkling clean marble and wooden floors took the place of stained, chip-covered carpets. Clean walls, clean floors, clean furniture. There was even a new hallway extending into a new set of rooms for Shippou and Miroku that shouldn't exist, but did.

Shippou was lounging on a new couch, watching cartoons on the new big screen television as Inuyasha walked in. He took off his coat and hung in on the coat rack by the door. Then he loosened his tie and collapsed on the couch beside Shippou.

"Did you even go to school today?"

"I skipped," the teen yawned. "Went home and packed a bag. All my stuff that I can't live without or can't be wished over. I figure clothes and bling I can beg from Miroku."

"Smart, kid," the other nodded. "Your father say anything?"

"He wasn't home," Shippou shrugged. "I doubt he noticed I didn't come home yesterday."

"We'll have to go to school tomorrow," Inuyasha thought out loud. "And the post office. Put in your change of address and emergency contact info."

"I've already got you listed as my next of kin at school."

"You do?" This surprised Inuyasha because they had never really spoken of it before.

"Well, yeah," the teen commented, punching Inuyasha in the arm with all the strength he could muster from his position. "You're like my brother, dude."

Inuyasha smiled; Shippou smiled back. Then Inuyasha gave him a noogie and Shippou howled for help.

"What are you doing to the child?" Miroku commented, wandering into the room and lowering himself into his easy chair. He was dressed for the day and age, in jeans and a t-shirt. It was only then that Inuyasha noticed the black mark on his right bicep, the letter M done in calligraphy. He had also left his hair down, and seemed extremely pleased with himself.

"Just normal big brother stuff," Inuyasha shrugged. He would never admit what that meant to him, or how much he really did care about the annoying teenager.

"Aw, family bonding," the Jin sniffled, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.

Inuyasha and Shippou looked at each other, using that secret guy language that can pass between two adolescent-minded males without words. Then they leapt on to the easy chair, knocking Miroku backwards over the top to somersault on the ground. Then they all erupted into howling laughter.

When Miroku had himself under control, he grinned up at the two on his chair. "So tell me, my great and powerful Master, how did your day go?"

Since he was using it in a sarcastic manner, Inuyasha let it slide that he had been called "master". "Oh, it went very well. Mrs. Higurashi agreed to my terms of investment, and I'll now be an active stock holder."

"Meaning?"

"Inuyasha gets to play around with her daughter while Mrs. Higurashi gets to play with his money," Shippou supplied.

"Ah," Miroku nodded. "A good cause."

"Shut up, you little runt," Inuyasha threatened.

"What?" the teen defended. "That's the only reason you wanted to do this scheme. Women, man. You're wasting precious wishes on a woman!"

"Not just a woman," he defended. "This is _the_ woman."

"Oh, _excuse_ me, Casanova," the redhead muttered, sniffing deeply. "I forgot she was _the one_."

"Just you wait," Inuyasha threatened as Shippou got up and headed toward his new room. "Wait until you meet a girl you'd do anything for."

"If that day comes," Shippou called over his shoulder. "Shoot me."

Miroku chuckled. "Children," he sighed. "He'll fall in love soon, as most boys do."

"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "It'll be a bummer though. Teen love is all power ballads and heartache."

"And yours isn't?"

"No, mine is more fantasizing and pathetic drooling."

"Ah, the real kind of love."

"You know it?" Inuyasha leaned forward, eager for a sympathetic ear.

"I am familiar with it, yes," Miroku nodded. "Tell me about your love. Perhaps I can help you win her."

Inuyasha groaned. "She comes from the wealthiest family in the state, all powerful in business and politics. She's the heir, and she works as her mother's _assistant_. I was surprised when I saw her filing papers this morning."

"At least she has a skill," Miroku pointed out.

"She's more than filing," Inuyasha said in monotone.

"Tell me," the Jin said, smiling.

"She's sweet, and I mean totally innocent. Pure. Honest. You can talk to her and she looks right at you, and you know she's listening and not thinking about what color nails she wants this week." Miroku leaned forward on to his hands, listening to Inuyasha talk with a kind of shaded smile. "She's funny. Really quirky sense of humor. It's totally refreshing. And she's smart. Not one of these bubbleheads who laughs at everything you say in hopes of a free steak dinner."

"She pretty?" the Jin prompted when Inuyasha trailed off into his thoughts.

"Miroku, she has no idea how stunning she is." Inuyasha sighed and flopped backwards on the floor, staring at the ceiling. "I would do anything to get a girl like her."

"You don't have to walk on broken glass," Miroku grinned. "You have me in your corner now, little boy."

"Kid in a candy store," the other laughed. "But, in a perverse and unrealistic way, I feel really guilty."

"Why?"

"Because the only reason I got my dream job and have any chance at my dream girl is because of you, because I magically wished for it. It has nothing to do with my skills or her liking me as a person."

"Don't think about that," Miroku said seriously. "It'll just drive you crazy. I've seen it happen."

"Ok, I'll chase my meek conscience back into the dark recesses of my psyche."

"Good job," Miroku coached. "Tell me more about your girl."

"Why are you so interested?" Inuyasha lifted his head to fix Miroku with a suspicious look. "What did Shippou tell you?"

The Jin grinned. "That she's gorgeous and you gawk at her everyday. Then he asked for a playstation. Good kid, really."

"Yeah well… I hope it's okay that you grant his wishes too. That's not against any kind of rule, right? Two masters too many, or something."

"It's alright. You wished that I grant the wishes of him as well, so technically, he's not a master. He's just… a really lucky kid with a good, even luckier friend."

"All we have is each other," Inuyasha said, slightly defensive.

"And so you stick together," Miroku nodded. "Nothing wrong with that."

"Well, now you're here too. So we've got a trio thing going on. It'll be fun."

"Yes, I believe it will."

There was a pause in their conversation before Inuyasha said, "Do you still want me to tell you about Kagome?"

"Yes," Miroku laughed, knowing it had been killing him. The lovelorn always wanted to talk about their beloveds; it was only natural. He liked hearing about it, to be honest. Souls in love always wanted to hear about love, it was a kind of reassurance that hoping was the right thing to do.

Inuyasha sighed, letting an image of Kagome rise in his mind. "Black hair, past her shoulders but not too long. She usually leaves it down, but sometimes she'll have it up and it gives a good view of her neck. Is it wrong to think she has a hot neck? Fair skin, but not too pale. And her smile… it can light up a room. It can blow you away."

"Oh, course it can," Miroku nodded, loving it.

"She's just so…"

"I know she is."

"And she's completely…"

"Sounds like a dream."

Inuyasha sighed, not even caring if Miroku was making fun of him or not. "But I think I love her eyes the most. One blue and one green. Exotic."

Miroku shot up when he said that. "Two different colors, you're sure?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha responded, getting up. "The right one is blue and the left one is green."

There was something in Miroku's face, something desperate that flickered in his eyes, but it was gone in an instant and he slid back into his previous position. "That is exotic," he said tonelessly.

"Is something wrong, Miroku?"

"No, it's nothing."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Hey Inuyasha!" Shippou called from his room down the hall. "What's for dinner?"

"Whatever you're making, you little shit!"

The door slammed on his unintelligible cursing. Inuyasha got to his feet, wiping his hands on the legs of his pants. "I'm going to make some dinner, you want?" he asked Miroku.

"You don't want me to make it?" the Jin asked in slight surprise. "It'll only take a second."

"No, that's okay," Inuyasha said with a shake of his head. "You've been worked pretty hard today, and I feel like cooking."

Inuyasha padded off into the kitchen but Miroku remained on the floor of the living room. He watched his master for a few moments, then turned toward the hallway where the "little" master was hiding. Then he looked at his arm, at the Jin mark emblazoned on to his flesh. Forever a mark of his bondage.

"Sango," he whispered. Then he went into the kitchen.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, chapter 3, done! I've answered two questions, opened a couple more, and hinted at others. All the pieces of the puzzle will come together further on down the road. Scout's honor. Remember to review! 


	4. Wish 4

**A/N:** Welcome to yet another chapter of this story. I appreciate the support I have been receiving, and though this story has not received the undying love that some of my other projects have, I must confess that this is shaping into one of my ultimate favorite ideas! On a side note, I'm leaving for my new school next week, and I really can't say when I will have time to update everything again. Bear with me!

**Disclaimer: **No, I doubt own it. I don't even own the idea! All I own is my strange little take on it.

* * *

Wish Fulfillment

Chapter 4

* * *

In her dream, she was dancing again.

The room was filled with men and women dressed in precious silks and diamond dust, drinking the finest drinks and smoking from ornamental pipes. They laughed and joked with one another, letting a sumptuous feast go cold on the tables spread out before them. They lounged back on padded cushions, indulging themselves.

All the while, she continued to dance. It wasn't her place to shake her head and judge them. It wasn't her place to think about how the food they wasted could have fed dozens of starving people on the streets. It wasn't her place to be disgusted by their behavior.

She wore her uniform proudly as she twirled about the center of the room. It was a square of tile floor left for her alone, with tables and pillows boxing her inside. She ignored the lecherous stares of men twice her age as they gazed at her bare stomach and lithe form hardly covered by pink gossamer fabric.

The man who had employed her services had made this outfit especially for her. Pink to match her eyes, an offset color of lavender. He had stared at her as hungrily as many of the men in the room did now, but she was used to it. They could look at they wanted—she was a dancer, it was part of her job, but they would never have her.

She kept her mind on her mission, focused on the motion of her body. The veil that hung across the lower half of her face covered the wince when she landed poorly on her healing ankle after a bad turn. She should have waited until she was in top form before taking this job, but her brother had to eat, and she was the only one left to care for him.

The musician in the corner finished off the song he was playing, and she finished her dance with a graceful bow. The watchers clapped their hands, cheering drunkenly before going back to their decadence. She bowed a few more times, then moved to where her belongs lay, near the musician. He bowed his head to her in acknowledgement. A silent agreement.

She tipped her head in return, bending over to pick something up from the floor.

In a moment, one of the drunken men was on her. His hands slid down the side of her body, his putrid breath filling her nostrils as he whispered a thousand obscene promises into her ear. He was rich; she was not. She was only a dancer. He could do to her what he wanted, and she could do nothing about it.

He was right about one thing. She wasn't rich.

In a second, the short sword in her hands was unsheathed. It moved so fast all he heard was the sound of air being sliced before the naked metal tore into his shoulder, wrenching the limb from his body.

He screamed, clutching his remaining hand to the wound, trying to stem the flow of black blood that coursed with no end in sight. The musician was on his feet, pulling his own sword from where it had been hidden among his cushions. He was easily able to cut down the two tiny protectors that ran to their master's aid.

The men and women in the room, the humans, screamed and fled. They tripped over cushions; they knocked over tables and bowls of food. They left nothing but ruin in their wake. The dancer and the musician paid them no mind, not even a second glance. They were studying their opponents. The demons who masked themselves as man and killed servants and slaves.

She knew what they were as sure as she knew her own name. She had been raised to hunt and kill them, as had every other member of her family for over a thousand years. It was what she was—a huntress. The pride of her now dwindling people.

The armless demon, the leader, stared at her with red eyes. He shed his human guise for the hated demon shape he had been craving. The bloodlust was plain in his eyes. All the torture he would visit upon her soft skin and young body.

She only smiled, a cold and heartless smile. A smile that came from delivering death to a hundred of his brothers. Her angelic beauty, her innocent air, all cleverly masking the warrior woman she truly was to the depth of her soul. Her sword in her hand, the hilt already slick with blood, made no sound as she charged forward. It was a living, breathing part of her.

The fight was quick. Her skills were unparalleled. She would bring the demon's head to the master of the house and demand her payment for services rendered. Then she could go home and wash the scent of blood from her hair.

The creature lay at her feet, its life pouring from the expert cut on its throat. It stared up at her with dulling eyes and asked her the question a hundred other demons had already asked. The name of their slayer. The name they would take with them to Hell.

"Sango," she told him, sheathing her blade. The musician was injured, but smiling. He had watched her back and would get his cut in full when they were paid.

She didn't know there was someone else watching her from the shadows of the room that night. Not human, not demon, but something much worse.

* * *

Sango woke with a start, glancing around the dark room in a panic. For a moment, she didn't know where she was or what she was doing. She tore at the blanket surrounding her as if it were a mortal enemy. 

Only once she had lurched to her feet and looked around the small living room did she remember.

Kagome's apartment.

The year two-thousand and five.

She was no longer a dancer, no longer a demon slayer, no long human. She was a Jin.

Panting, Sango reached for and opened the small window in the living room. Cold air blew through, cooling her sweat-heated body. It smelled of snow and ice, things she had never seen before becoming a Jin. She let the refreshing scent wash over her.

The mark on her cheek was throbbing, so she pressed a hand to her face.

She had thought the dreams were gone now. She hadn't had them in over four hundred years. Dreams of the life she had had so long ago.

"Sango?"

Turning, she was faced with the small form of her master. Kagome stood in the doorway, a quilt wrapped around her body and the tiny fluff ball of Buyo in her arms. Her head of black hair was sticking up in all different directions, like she had been tossing in bed as well.

"Forgive me," Sango choked out. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I was already up," Kagome confessed, moving toward her. Even though the room was mostly dark, Sango could still see her form in the gloom. "I heard you talking in your sleep. Did you have a nightmare?"

"Not so much a nightmare," Sango sighed, settling into a chair. "A memory."

"Memory?" Kagome sounded confused, a little muzzy from sleep. She came closer, settling on the floor at Sango's feet. Her eyes were luminous as she looked up; one as blue as the summer sky and one as green as polished jade. Eyes she had looked into for over a century, marking the failure Sango would pay for, for the rest of her immortal life.

Sango reached out, touching a cold hand to Kagome's face. "I was human once," she whispered to the darkness. "As mortal and frail as you are." She tucked a lock of hair behind Kagome's ear and looked at her wistfully. "I still dream of those days, even after so much time."

"Human…" Kagome wasn't shocked.

"I had a home once that wasn't in a ring." She just wanted to say it out loud, whether or not Kagome cared to listen. "I had a family and a calling. I had a life before this."

Fumbling because of the dark, Kagome grasped Sango's hand in her own. "What happened? How did you get like this?"

Sango's eyes misted with tears, but she couldn't tell if it was because of the lingering pain or the present kindness. "I failed. I was sent to do a job and I failed. The Jin… she offered me a way to change it. She offered me a way to fix the mistake I made." She hiccupped over her words, ignoring her tears. "I let her bind me so that my mistake would be erased."

Kagome released Sango's hand in order to wrap her arms around the despairing Jin. Sango welcomed her, welcomed the offered comfort, and sobbed into the folds of the quilt until the old shame and memories showered from her eyes along with her tears.

After she quieted, Kagome pulled back and used the corner of her blanket to dry Sango's face. "Don't cry anymore," she said softly.

The Jin smiled. "You are very patient with me."

"Oh, I'll make you be patient with me before our time together is up," Kagome admitted with a grin. "I'm a horrible klutz." Sango gave a watery chuckle and Kagome brightened. "I don't have to work tomorrow, why don't we go out?"

"Out?" Sango asked, blinking. "As in, outside?"

"Why not?" her master asked with puzzlement. "You can borrow some of my clothes, or, you know… snap your fingers or whatever. I can take you to lunch, can't I?" She paused. "You do eat, don't you?"

Sango laughed. "Yes, I eat. And I would love to go outside with you."

"Wonderful." Kagome helped Sango to her feet and grinned up at her. "Do you think you can sleep again?"

"It's almost dawn now," the Jin replied. "I think I'll just watch early-morning television."

"Good idea. I'll make the coco."

A sleepy Buyo followed at Kagome's heels as she headed for the kitchen, tottering on his unsteady paws.

* * *

The crisp March air felt good in her lungs as she gulped in one heady breath after another. After ten years asleep, it felt wonderful to stretch her legs in the outside world again. 

Kagome walked at Sango's side, her arm looped through that of the Jin in a friendly way. Sango was outfitted in some of Kagome's clothes, even though they had had a heated debate over Sango's parading around the neighborhood in conjured clothes.

"We'll have to outfit you accordingly," Kagome had said, digging around in a dresser drawer until she fished out a small white envelope.

"How are we going to do that?" Sango had asked, smiling a little as she lounged across Kagome's bed.

"With this," Kagome squealed, flashing a gold credit card in the face of the flabbergasted Jin. "Mom's emergency gold card."

"If it is for emergencies, then I would hardly think this qualifies," the other protested.

"Nonsense," the cardholder smiled. "I could just wish the bill paid at the end of our shopping spree, couldn't I?"

"Well, yes—"

"Or I could just wish the money into the bank for Mother to use to pay off the credit card?"

"True—"

"Aw hell, I could just wish for more money in general, right?"

"Then why not just wish for the clothes right now?" Sango asked, confused a little by the situation. "I could conjure you any outfit in all the world, even some that haven't been designed yet! I could give you _anything_ you dream up and you never have to set foot outside of this room."

Kagome looked at her with a bemused smile. "Where's the fun in that?"

And so here they were, companionably walking down the sidewalks of the city, ready to enter the best department store that came into their sights. Half the excitement came from the fact that money was no object for them. Some girls came to the big city to shop, clutching their hard-earned money that they had saved over the past six months working horrible jobs in fast food establishments or in grocery stores. Kagome, who was born with the golden name of Higurashi, had been able to bypass the horrible job and skip straight to the shopping.

Sango, who had the powers of the universe at her fingertips for everyone other than herself, enjoyed the simple luxury of picking something out that would be hers and hers alone.

"This store looks nice," Kagome commented, pointing to a large women's department store. "We can do everything in one fell swoop."

"Everything?" Sango questioned, being steered through the revolving glass doors.

"You know, clothes, shoes, make-up. The works!"

"One or two outfits would be fine," the Jin fought, trying to dig in her heels. "I don't need excess—"

"Sango, am I your master?"

"Yes."

"And that means you must do everything I say, right?"

A familiar blow to the pride, to the heart, Sango lowered her head, not wanting to feel the broken expectations of having thought that this one would be different. "Yes."

"Then you have to listen to me when I tell you," she paused to meet Sango's lavender gaze, "to enjoy yourself."

Sango blinked, looking earnestly at her little mistress. There was only honesty in her two-toned eyes. All the same good-natured mischief there was from that first night over a hamburger. "I could try," she said lamely.

Kagome only grinned and took her hand. "That's all I can really ask for then. Come on."

Tugging gently, Kagome lead her past the make-up counters and racks of hats and bags. Taking the escalator up to the clothing department—which was an adventure for Sango, who had never used an escalator before, they located the first salesperson they saw.

"Good morning," Kagome greeted, flaunting her million-dollar smile. "I would like to get a room started for my companion, please."

The saleswoman, a tall thirty-something in an ugly pantsuit and an even worse perm, looked the pair up and down with open distaste. "Rooms are only started for those planning on making a purchase of a thousand dollars or more."

"We are," Kagome replied, her smile never wavering.

"It's an extremely hefty sum," the saleswoman said, as if pointing out something they didn't know.

"Come, Miss Higurashi," Sango commented, playing a hunch. "We can take our business somewhere more friendly."

"I suppose you're right," Kagome sighed, turning to go. "And Mother will be so disappointed that her favorite store turned us away."

"Higurashi?" the saleswoman choked, paling by the second. "You're a _Higurashi_?"

"Kagome Higurashi, to be exact," she replied. Then she whipped out her mother's gold card. "Can we have that room now?"

The woman sputtered for a second, then clapped her hands loudly. "Of course, ma'am! I'm terribly sorry!" Her entire demeanor changed from haughty to inviting in the blink of an eye. And just as fast as her change, a group of other salespeople flocked to them. "Get a room started, and bring some coffee for customers. Quickly!"

Kagome turned to Sango with a smile. "See? Fun!"

Sango gave her a strained smile, unsure that having her own servants would be a dream or a nightmare. Still, she fell into step quickly.

Kagome walked through the racks of clothing, pointing at things she liked and having one of the trailing workers grab in and carry it off to the room. She encouraged Sango to do the same, and the Jin managed to pick out a few garments that were appealing. Then they retired to the fitting room.

There had been a small reclining chair brought it where Kagome lounged, a saleswoman bringing her coffee and snacks at her will. Sango was shown into the dressing room where she modeled different outfits with increasingly high spirits for Kagome, who gave a thumbs up or thumbs down for each ensemble.

"I notice you like pink," Kagome called from her seat as Sango changed.

"When I was a girl, colored clothing was hard to come by. Only the wealthy could afford something more extravagant than white, black, or un-dyed." She eyed herself in the full-length mirror in her stall, outfitted in a soft cardigan sweater and black skirt. "My father bought me a pink kimono for me when I was a little girl. He said it went with my eyes."

"It does," Kagome agreed. "You have these very pretty purple-y eyes. Pink makes them stand out nicely."

Sango smiled as she walked out. "It was the only colored thing I had until I grew older. Then I would have outfits made for me in all kinds of colors, when I was a dancer."

"You were a dancer?" The heiress sat up straight in her chair.

"I was trained in dance, yes." She looked down on her skirt. "Yes?"

"I like it," Kagome nodded. "That must have been interesting, being a professional dancer."

The Jin shrugged her shoulders elegantly, returning to her room to change. "Dance is very close to fighting styles. That was what I was really was trained for. My family had a very long legacy of hunters for hire. Dancing was something I did as a kind of… secret identity, if you will."

Kagome snorted into her coffee. "Somehow I can't picture Clark Kent dancing in a skimpy outfit."

"I am not familiar with a Mr. Kent. Is he a friend of yours?"

She only laughed again. "Never mind, Sango. What's the next outfit?"

"I'll show you in a moment," the Jin replied. Her voice was muffled by fabric over her head.

"You didn't get out much when Dad was alive, did you?" This was a question that had been particularly plaguing Kagome.

"I hardly left the office," Sango told her. "When I was at your father's house, I was always behind locked doors. It was how he thought best to conceal me from the world."

"Why didn't anyone tell me about you before my birthday?"

"It was… tradition, I believe. It was safer not to know of my existence until you came of age than to know and expect me to come and solve your problems."

Sango walked out, modeled a new outfit that Kagome rejected, and returned to the room.

"I can't picture Dad keeping something like that from me," Kagome sighed. "Something so huge."

"You were still a very young girl when your father passed away," Sango sympathized. "I'm sure they thought it best not to tell you."

"You couldn't stop him from dying?" Another question from the heart.

"I can't stop the Grim Reaper, dearest. My power lies strictly within the material world. A person's destiny has already been set in stone before I ever came into their lives."

"Is that why no one has wished for immortality?"

"Oh, they have," Sango chuckled. "And I've given it to them."

"You have?"

"Your great-great grandfather wished for immortality, and he will forever be remembered as the man who founded the present day Higurashi Empire." Sango was finally getting the hang of using a zipper. "An ancestor of yours, oh about two hundred years ago, wished for immortality. He wrote a poem that was published and is often quoted in schools and by other poets even today."

"So, you can grant immortality in the way of a person living on in spirit…"

Sango walked out, smoothing a wrinkle from the skirt of the dress. "I can give a man the means to achieve anything he wishes, but only within the realm of the physical. I can only bend reality, not break it."

Kagome cocked her head to one side and nodded. "I like that dress on you."

"Thank you."

"Everything has rules, right?"

"Mostly everything."

"Really? What doesn't?"

Sango grinned and walked back into her booth. "Love, of course. What can't be explained can't be bound by rules."

"Poetic," Kagome giggled.

"Thank you."

"Sango?"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever been in love?"

There was a pause where Sango collected her thoughts before answering. "Yes."

Kagome heard the tremble in that breath. "Were you scared?"

"Terrified."

The heiress sighed. "I've never been in love."

"Aren't you and your fiancé…"

"No. I love Kouga, but I'm not _in_ love with him. He's… my best friend. Better than blood." She drank the last of her coffee, savoring the bitterness on her tongue. "Besides, he's in love with another girl."

"And yet the two of you are getting married?"

Kagome brooded, looking at the empty cup in her hands. "The more I think about it, the more I hate the idea."

"You always have a choice, Kagome. Just remember that."

Sango emerged, dressed as she was when they first arrived. Kagome motioned for a few of the salespeople hovering outside of earshot to box up their purchases, then got to her feet. "Can I ask you something?"

"Feel free," Sango told her. They descended the stairs to the shoe department, leaving the boxing and ringing up of merchandise to the professionals.

"Was my father a good master?"

The Jin pondered the right answer, but found none. A lie was a lie and Kagome would know. The truth was just as bad as a lie.

"He was always kind to me," Sango told her. "He asked my opinion on matters and always told me things about your family and the outside world."

"But?" These stories always had a resounding 'but' attached.

"But he was the Master," she said, tossing a lock of brown hair over her shoulder as she pierced Kagome with her lavender gaze. "And he never wanted me to forget that I was the servant."

* * *

Shippou was doing what he did best; he was complaining. 

Of course, there was no one to complain to at the moment, since Inuyasha was working on his uber-cool new job and Miroku were busy refurnishing the apartment. Again. So he was grumbling to himself as he stalked around the hallways of his overcrowded high school. No one really paid much attention to him—kids from his neighborhood tended to mind their own business, so he simply wandered.

He thought about maybe heading back to his old man's place after school, seeing if the hoocher had drunken himself into a coma. Maybe to just see if his father had noticed he no longer had a son.

It was a secret, really. That kind of longing a kid hides in the depth of his heart, a hope that their parents love them. That their parents want them. That they aren't a mistake.

Since his mother took off when he was eight, Shippou had been told plenty of times that he was a mistake, that he should never have been born. He had been hit plenty of times too, but the pain on his body was never as bad as the pain in his heart. All he had ever wanted was to be loved like every kid deserves to be loved. But that love didn't come from the man who gave him life.

The love he had wanted came from a bitchy, irritating newsstand owner who looked at him and saw more than a fucked up collection of misplaced anger.

It wasn't perfect. They didn't have one of those magical love-connection, metaphysical relationships that are always shown in Lifetime movies or written about in adoption novels. They fought all the time and they got mad at each other. It was the fact that they could forgive, that they were always there for one another, that made them a family.

They didn't have much—sometimes close to nothing at all, but since they had found each other, they had become brothers in more ways than a blood connection could ever give.

So, as true to anyone with such a deep respect and love for one's brother, he walked the halls, cursing the day said brother was born.

The hallways were packed full of angry teenagers. You could almost smell the hormones in the air, the depression, aggression, and barely repressed hostility. A three-story building filled with enough insecurity, self-consciousness, and anxiety to bring a country to its knees.

It had always been Shippou's theory that instead of chemical warfare, someone should just force evil world leaders to listen to bad punk music about the scary high school experience.

"Hey Shippou," a few kids greeted. He acknowledged them in turn, but usually kept his head down and kept to himself.

Math class. English class. Gym class. Finally it was his lunch period. A tiny stint of twenty-minute freedom during which he could eat a bunch of crap and listen to girls talk about fashion while his friends took turns going to the bathroom to light up a new cigarette.

It was funny. He used to be like that. Waiting for his next cigarette, or joint. Wishing for the weekends to come so he could go to a seniors' only party and get hammered. Ditching class to avoid gang recruiters.

Now he still had to duck out now and then, but the drinking and drugs were behind him. A kind of hazy memory floating back into the recesses of his mind. But even though you could take away the drugs and the delinquency, he was still a teenager. And one who grew up on the streets.

When Shippou needed to blow off some steam, there was only one way to do it.

He saw his targets at the end of the hall. The half-period bell rang, signaling the beginning of lunch and the other classes in progress. The hallways were mostly barren now, but they remained.

Two teenaged boys, who were roughly Shippou's age, were in his sights. Their names were Hiten and Manten, and they called themselves the Thunder Brothers. They survived by being tough, a gang of two, so that the bigger gangs would leave them alone. And sure, they were tough. But Shippou was better and one of his favorite pastimes was beating that fact into their faces.

Hiten was, arguably, the brains of their operation. He was attractive and did quite well with the ladies, so the rumors went. He was an arrogant prick, and Shippou hated him the most.

Manten loved no one as much as himself, though there wasn't much to love in looks or brains. Beating him up would be like beating up a puppy if he wasn't twice Shippou's size, and twice as mean-spirited.

Today must have been Shippou's lucky day, since they hadn't skipped or been suspended yet. That meant he could get in some quality beating time before the end of the period. But as he drew closer, he realized that they weren't going to pay him any undone insults or attention. They were busy.

"Come on, sweetheart," Hiten said in that oily voice of his. "I'd be a really good boyfriend."

"Go screw yourself!" an outraged female voice shrilled. Shippou couldn't see her since Manten was in the way, but judging from the way the two brothers were crowding her into the corner, he knew she was going to be in some serious trouble.

"Aw, Rin, you're breaking my heart!"

"G-good." She was losing her nerve and they were moving in on her.

"Just one date, come on." Hiten reached out a hand for her, smiling that sick grin of his. Shippou knew this was a second away from bad. Hiten was the kind of bastard who wouldn't hesitate before hitting a girl. If she turned him down again…

"Everyday you ask me the same question," she said evenly. Her second wind was coming. "And every day I tell you the same answer."

"Now, Rin—"

"_Kiss my ass,_ Hiten. I would rather eat my backpack than go out with you!"

He saw it, the exact moment when Hiten's façade cracked at the stab to his pride. His eyes widened just a little, and his hand flew back. Shippou moved fast, grabbing his arm before it could begin the arch that would lead it downwards toward its target.

"Hello, boys," Shippou said, smiling grimly at the pair. They both whirled to face him, their battle faces falling into place.

"Back off, Nekoi," Hiten snarled. "This doesn't concern you."

"When a lady turns you down," Shippou instructed politely, releasing his foe's arm, "it is only polite to oblige her wishes."

He was able to see the "lady" now. She was slender, bordering on scrawny, with a head of messy black hair, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses that did nothing to hide her chocolate brown eyes, and legs that went on forever. Or maybe it was just the mini-skirt she was wearing that gave him that impression. Still, she didn't seem like Hiten's type. Her breasts were too small, her hips too wide, and a stack of books lay scattered at her feet, suggesting a brain. Not Hiten's kind of girl at all.

"Just a friendly misunderstanding," the smooth-talker said, shaking his arm off. "Right Rin?"

"Bite me, dickwad," she bit out. Then she went so far as to spit on his jacket, earning her an enormous amount of Shippou's respect.

"Bitch!" Manten roared. "No one insults my brother!" He raised a fist, making to smack her. She cringed; but nothing connected. When she looked up, she saw Shippou had moved in front of her, intercepting the blow with one of his own.

"Temper, temper," he chided gently, as if the meaty fist that just pounded into his own hadn't hurt in the least.

"I warned you, Nekoi!" Hiten growled. "Let's take this outside."

"Why bother?" Shippou said, smiling nonchalantly. Then he proceeded to throw a punch at Hiten's head before anyone could react. It connected, sending the older brother to the floor. Manten roared again and charged, but Shippou easily dodged it. Speed was his greatest weapon. And with Inuyasha's lessons on ducking and weaving under his belt, no thug could ever hope to touch him.

"Bastard," Hiten swore, spitting out a trickle of blood from where his lip had grated against his teeth. "You'll pay for it."

"Try!" Shippou taunted. He landed a solid kick to the back of Manten's knees, sending him to the floor. Then elbowed him on the back of the head.

Hiten was a better fighter, and nearly as fast as Shippou was. They circled each other, trading blows for a few seconds before Shippou feigned to the left and caught his opponent with a right hook.

"What's going on down there?"

Turning, the four students saw a teacher barreling toward their end of the hall. Hiten and Manten picked themselves up and sprinted for the doors on the other side of the hall. "This isn't over, Nekoi!" they threatened as they made their retreat.

The teacher skid to a stop beside Shippou and Rin. He eyed Shippou, and would have said something, but Rin stepped up beside him. "Quick, Mr. McCoy! Hiten and Manten were picking fights and trying to molest me again!"

The teacher gave Shippou one more glare, then took off after the brothers. Shippou let out a breath he hadn't realized he's been holding.

"Thanks… for not ratting me out," he said, turning to face Rin.

She was kneeling on the ground, picking up her forgotten books. "It's the least I could have done," she said, smiling shyly at him. "Hiten was about to hit me good this time."

"This time?"

"It's not the first time he had me cornered," she shrugged. "He's been after me since the start of senior year."

Shippou kneeled beside her to help gather the discarded books, and saw most of them were notes and sketchbooks. An artist, even. Hiten was setting his sights high these days. "If he bothers you again, just let me know."

Rin fixed him with a look from over the tops of her glasses. "Are you my personal savior, or just a thrasher?"

Shippou met her look with his earnest green gaze. "I am many things." She smiled brilliantly at him. Shippou smiled back. "I'm Shippou… N-Nekoi. Shippou Nekoi." He'd stuttered! But he never stuttered.

"I know who you are," she laughed.

"You do?"

"We have math together, first period."

Shippou looked at her, but couldn't seem to place her in his memory banks. Though it was true he slept through math most of the time he actually went to that class. "Huh… you'd think I'd remember someone as pretty as you." Oh, _God_. Why had he gone and said something as obvious as that? He felt the blush creep up his neck before he could hang his head and busy himself with something else.

"I'm Rin, Rin Murakami. In case you were wondering."

"It's a pleasure."

"Likewise." He couldn't meet her eyes, his manly pride still smarting from that cliché romantic crap. Was it just him, or had that sounded like a really bad pick up line? "You still didn't answer my question."

"What?" He looked up at her, then.

"You still haven't said if you're my personal savior or just a thrasher."

Shippou reached for the last notebook on the floor at the same time Rin did. His hand closed over hers just as she took the edge into her fingers. He didn't need to look down; he only smiled. "I'll let you decide that."

Rin blushed, in a very pretty way. She had a dimple on one cheek, which made her a very endearing mismatch. And for the first time in Shippou's young life, his heart started beating too fast because of a girl.

"So, Shippou Nekoi," Rin said shyly. "Would you like to have lunch with me?"

"I would love to, Rin."

Shippou forgot why exactly he had been mad at Inuyasha. In fact, he forgot about Inuyasha all together.

* * *

**A/N:** Everyone get the little "Grim Reaper" comment in there? Eh, eh? (crying profusely at own lameness) Please review! 


	5. Wish 5

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay everyone, but I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! College is very hectic and there is just _so_ much to do I haven't been able to juggle my time around to update much. Sadly, the same thing is going to be happening next semester, when I take another 18 credits. I haven't given up on this story, or any of my others, I was just very busy. But now that finals are over, oh the fun I shall have! Hold on to your chairs, readers dear, because I am going to be updating fast and furiously!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything...not even my soul anymore. It all belongs to Montclair State University.

* * *

**Wish Fulfillment**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Kagura sat in the dark again. This time, she held an old silk fan in her hands, and staring at it kept her mind from wandering too far away. It kept her from remembering too much about her pathetic existence and doomed situation. 

She traced the embroidery with her fingers, tracing the familiar blood stain at the center. So many memories went along with this little piece of cloth and wood.

This had been hers once, in that time when she had been privileged enough to own something herself. She had been able to keep it with her even after she had been sealed, and it was the only link she still had to the life she had left behind.

Not that it had been a life she wanted to desperately remember.

The only good things to have ever happened to her, happened after she became a Jin, but that secret yearning sometimes came over her when she was alone in the dark, clutching that fan, and seeing the memories in her eyes as if they were playing like a movie across her eyes. That desperate yearning to go anywhere, to do anything. To be free.

When she had been alive, Kagura was always alone. She had been a bastard by birth, her father was a man of nobility and worth, while her mother had been a peasant he had raped when the fancy came over him. Her mother had died when she was a child, and the woman's peasant family had sold Kagura to a nearby house of pleasure. By the time Kagura was eight, she was the darling of the brothel. In the beginning, she did menial chores like cooking and cleaning, but by the time she was ten, she was entertaining customers herself.

She had always been given a lot of attention by the owner, an elderly prostitute with a good head for business, and the other girls who worked the house, they had always looked out for her, but Kagura had never trusted a men. Even in her immortal lifetime, there had only been one.

And he was gone. Had been for nearly a thousand years, in fact.

The old ache rose in Kagura's heart when she thought of him, the only man she had ever loved.

When they had first encountered one another, she had despised him utterly. Such a pompous, supercilious wretch who deemed himself better than her because he had been eight hundred years older than her, and of a good family. Even after she had fallen in love with him, they fought often. It was part of the reason why she loved him so dearly. He had never treated her like a whore, like a possession, like so many before him had. He never treated her like something precious, like a doll. He had infuriated her, urged her to meet him equally or he would have nothing to do with her. And she did meet him as an equal, often and with great pride.

But a Jin was forbidden to love, because a Jin has no right to love. When one can have nothing for themselves, they can have no heart.

She traced the blood stain with a sigh.

The blood was actually her own, blood that she had coughed up on the fan one night while entertaining a guest. She had been twenty-six years old and stricken with a disease that was slowly killing her. That was when the Jin had approached her and offered her everlasting life. Kagura, who already lived with barely any sense of self, excepted the exchange and became a Jin. It wasn't really until she met _him_ that she wanted more from her life.

But he was gone now, and she was here. Her bond worn on the arm of another murderer, another villain. Her eternal punishment for betraying her people.

Kagura didn't cry; she had long ago given up on tears. No, she didn't cry, but she did want to, and that was ten times worse.

The door flew open in the middle of her foggy memories. Jerking up, she saw Naraku storm in, slamming the door behind him in his wake. Casually, Kagura slipped the fan into the folds of her kimono and got to her feet. She bowed slightly. "Welcome home, Master," she said with a smile.

Naraku eyed her for a moment before looking away in disgust. "Is he awakened?"

"Yes, Master."

"Can you find him without him finding you?"

"Probably."

Naraku glared at her and moved closer. "What do you mean _probably_?" He moved like a serpent, or an insect. Kagura knew that his temper did not fly from him often. Such moments were brought on by stress and disappointment. Her newest master was very intelligent, and a cold-blooded murderer.

She internally sighed. "It _is_ true that Miroku is the youngest of the Jin, and because of his..._unique_ confinement, he has probably not been out among the world as much as the other to gain bearings on all of his abilities, but he _is_ still a Jin, my Master." She met his eyes unflinchingly as he shot pure hatred at her from his gaze. "There is always the possibility that he will feel my presence as keenly as I feel his."

Naraku growled, pushing a hand through his hair as he began to lightly pace the living room. Kagura stood still, arms crossed over her chest, and waited. She knew this to be his moment of creation, where he puzzled out his greatest schemes. Her master was far from a fool, which made a hidden part of her quiver in fear of what lay ahead for her and her own.

"Is there anyway you could...cloak your presence?" he asked. "A spell or enchantment, perhaps?"

"I'm afraid not, Master," she said simply. "A Jin will feel another Jin the closer they are to one another, no matter what. The only way I could come close to either of the others would be if I were no longer a Jin."

Naraku puzzled some more, wrapping a lock of hair around his finger unconsciously. "Is there a way for you to become human on a temporary basis?"

"No," she said. She couldn't lie, but this was one of the rare times when she enjoyed that fact. "Were I to become human again, human I would remain, until death."

"Fuck," he swore, hit with another dead end. "I suppose I will have to do this _myself_." Turning back to Kagura with a sneer, he said, "I don't suppose you could tell me where he is."

"Do you have a map of the city?"

"I wish I had one."

Kagura snapped her fingers and a map appeared on the coffee table, spread out and new. She looked it over for a second, finding the section of the Shopping District in which she had been in when she gave the Knife to that young man. Closing her eyes, Kagura held her open hand, palm down, over the map.

Naraku snorted. "Are you scrying now?"

She ignored him, focusing. She called up a mental image of Miroku in her mind, just the way he had been the day they had all be sealed. The day the other Jin died. Kagura felt for his presence, that pulsing aura she would recognize in the dark any day for all of her limitless lifetimes. And suddenly, her hand descended and her eyes opened.

"He is here," she said, pointing to the building in which Inuyasha lived.

Naraku snatched up the map and circled the address with a pen from the kitchen counter. "Good job, Kagura," he praised.

"Thank you, Master," she replied. Neither meant it, it was simply a formality. She hesitated briefly, then spoke again. "What are you planning to do?"

Naraku eyed her, but decided there would be no harm in telling her. Who would she share it with? "I'm simply going to observe for the time being. The more difficult problem is how I am going to take back the Ring now that the girl has awoken the Jin." He pondered a moment longer, then folded the map and tucked it beneath his arm. "For now, there is nothing to be done. I will simply watch, and wait. And when the time comes to act, I will spring my trap."

As he watched, Kagura called up the mental image of three Jin caught in a mousetrap, and she didn't like it one bit.

* * *

Inuyasha adjusted his maroon silk tie for the fourth time. Then he would striaght the lapels of his silver-gray Armani suit. Then he would take the band out of his hair and pull it back again, this time taking pains not to have it on an angle. Then he would pace in front of the elevator for another five minutes. 

It was only after he got a sufficient amount of stares from passing employees that he pulled himself together and got into the car. Once there, he took a few deep breaths and pushed the button for the top floor. The ride was the longest of his life, it really was.

Suddenly, before he was ready, the bell dinged and the doors opened.

Kagome sat behind her desk, in one of her usual, snappy business suits with her hair swept up into a high ponytail. She was chewing on a pen cap and staring at her computer screen with intensity, fingers flying across the keyboard. His palms began to sweat slightly as he stepped on to the floor. She looked up from her computer screen, quickly grabbing the pen from her lips, and smiled. The smile that she gave him was enough to make a man temporarily blind.

As it was, it was enough to give him the confidence to do what he came here for.

"Hey there," he greeted.

"Good afternoon," she replied. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I've been holed up in the office that your mother loaned to me while I'm filtering in my investments," Inuyasha explained, trying not to get into the technical terms of stock percentages and the likely ratio of turn-out. "I need to go out for lunch, and I was wondering if you would like to accompany me."

Kagome blushed prettily, pushing the keyboard further away from her.. "You're asking me to lunch, _now_?"

"Do you have other plans?"

"No," she said with a shy smile. "I would be delighted to join you."His smile mirrored her own. "Just let me tell _her _I'm going out, and I'll join you downstairs in, say, five minutes?"

"As you wish," he replied, bowing politely and heading back to the elevator.

Kagome watched him go, and once sure he wouldn't hear, let out of whoop of joy. "Happy day," she cheered, jumping to her feet. She grabbed her coat from the rack, then rapped on the door that lead into her mother's office.

"Come in."

"Mother," Kagome called, poking her head inside. "I'm going out to lunch."

"Alright," her mother called back. She never looked up from the papers she was looking over on her desk. Kagome decided it wasn't important to add that she was having lunch with their new investor. What she didn't know, wouldn't hurt her.

"I'll be back in about an hour."

"Alright."

Kagome smiled. This was a familiar dance of theirs, something that went back to her childhood. "When the aliens drop me back off in Roswell, is it ok if I call a cab to get back here?"

Without blinking, her mother said, "Sure, sweetheart."

"Bye, Mom," Kagome whispered as she closed the door and pulled her coat on.

Even her mother couldn't ruin her good mood right now. Not only was she having lunch with a down-right _hottie_, she could also stop by the pet store and pick up a few things for Buyo on her lunch hour. Granted, Sango could "poof" in anything she might ever need, Kagome got the feeling that her new Jin roommate wasn't particularly fond of using her powers at will. And she truly enjoyed going into a pet store with the aim of actually purchasing things for her new kitten.

When the elevator opened on the first floor, she spotted Inuyasha standing a few feet away, chatting with one of the girls from reception. Her headset was still on over her bottle-blonde hair and Kagome noticed that every time she giggled or smiled, she pulled up the hem of her skirt a little bit with her left hand. "Shameless hussy," Kagome breathed, narrowing her two-toned eyes. She was not normally a jealous person, but it was not every day a man like Inuyasha asked her out. Oh, if this phone-slut wanted a fight for attention, she would get one!

Inuyasha spotted her when she was a few yards away, and when he smiled, it was one of relief. That quelled the demon in her heart as she joined them. "Ready?" he asked her.

"As I'll ever be," she responded.

"Oh, you're going out?" the receptionist asked, her bottom lip working into a pout.

"We have a lunch date," Kagome said with an easy smile. Only another woman would have picked up on the predatory glare behind her neutral expression.

The receptionist drew herself up some before turning back to Inuyasha. "You should come up to the tenth floor sometime."

"Sure," he lied. Right through his teeth, and they all knew it. The receptionist only pouted again and walked away. "Sorry about that," he apologized to Kagome. "She saw me and pounced."

"Is she a friend of yours?" Kagome asked with a sassy grin.

"Not really." He sighed heavily. "You women, I have to beat you off with a stick, you know?"

"Oh, I'd believe it," Kagome nodded, giggling a bit. "Come on. I know the greatest place where we can have lunch." She tugged on his sleeve, beckoning him to follow her. "That is, of course, if you trust me."

"Should I?" he asked, giving her a half-lidded inspection.

"Why wouldn't you?"

"There is that old saying that the unsuspecting man should never get himself involved with a beautiful and cunning woman."

Kagome only laughed again as a pretty blush stole across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. "You're just a smooth talker. Come on." She grabbed his elbow and tugged him along behind her. Inuyasha let himself be yanked.

They made for the front door when they were stopped. This time the cause was Hojo Matoh. "Hey, Kagome."

She came to a halt and smiled. "Hi Hojo." She held up a finger to Inuyasha, signaling that she would only be a minute. He watched with surprise as she walked over and hugged the absent-minded security chief. It brought to mind what Shippou had told him about Kagome being friends with him. "Sorry about blowing you off on my birthday. There was drama, you know how it goes."

"Ah, it's no problem. I figured as much when you blew out of here like that. Hope all was better later."

"Oh it was, but how have you been? How's Yumi?"

"Oh, we're good," he said, smiling intimately at her. "She's growing like a weed. You have to come over for dinner sometime soon."

"I'd love to," she replied, patting him on the hand. Then she motioned toward Inuyasha with her head. "I was just stepping out to lunch, but we'll talk soon, ok?"

"Don't forget now," he joked.

"Never. Have a good day."

"You too."

Hojo waved over to Inuyasha, who returned it was a nod. Then the security guard blinked and looked over toward the vacant newsstand. As he walked off, he was scratching his head.

When they parted, Kagome scampered back over to Inuyasha, shoving her hands into her pockets and smiling. "Sorry about that."

Inuyasha only shrugged. "He a friend of yours?" he asked while holding the door open for her.

Kagome noted, with much satisfaction, that he was doing it as a reflex rather than because of duty. Chivalry was not dead with this one. "Yeah, we go way back. Have you met him?"

"A couple times. Matoh, right? Head of security."

Kagome nodded, looking up at the gray sky above them as they headed down the sidewalk. It looked like snow, God knew it was cold enough. "He's only worked at the Tower about eight months. He's the youngest head of security we've ever had, but he's very good at what he does."

"I dunno," Inuyasha said with a shrug. "He seems a little vacant to me."

She shook her head a little sadly. "He's naive, not stupid. Truly he is a very good person, and a very good guy to have around in a crisis."

"So the water cooler talk is correct?"

"Water cooler...?"

When she turned her blue-green eyes up to him, he wished he hadn't pursued it. Sadly, Inuyasha was a creature that let his passions often get the better of him, and jealousy was no exception. "Rumors, gossip," he elaborated.

"_Oh_," she said, blushing again. "I forget sometimes that being the boss's daughter makes me a hot topic." Nervously, she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Hojo and I went to high school together, that's all. We've been friends for a long time. I was maid of honor when he got married."

Inuyasha blinked. "He's _married_. I never heard that."

"He's a widower, actually. Eri, his wife, passed away last year in a car accident." Pain flickered across her face as she spoke, but her small smile never faltered.

He felt like a loser, bringing all of this up. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," she assured him. "You didn't know. It's not something him or I like to spread around."

Inuyasha coughed once, clearing his throat. Wanting to change the subject to something that would make her smile again, he asked, "So where is it that you're kidnapping me to eat?"

Kagome grinned. "Nice change of subject."

"Thanks."

She looked around her, craning her neck to the left and right. "We're almost there," she nodded. Inuyasha tucked his hands into his pockets, grinning internally. Undoubtedly, she was taking him to some expensive little place where the menus would be in French or something, but thanks to Miroku, he could pay any bill or confidently walk into any restaurant. Paperboy Inuyasha would have been able to afford a cheeseburger or chocolate shake, but not much else. "We're here!" announced, grabbing his hand.

Inuyasha was surprised to find that her dynamite restaurant was a hole-in-the-wall diner with tacky neon lights in the shape of clocks and beer names, and a big sign that spelled out the name of the building with no vowels. "I was _not_ expecting this," he commented.

Horrified, Kagome's smile fell. "Oh God, I'm so sorry! You probably wanted to go to a fancier place, right? Shit, I wasn't thinking--"

"No, it's ok," he assured her laughingly. "I thought _you_ were going to take to me a fancy place."

"_Me_? I can't afford anything more than McDonald's on a good day." He raised an eyebrow at her, cocking his head to the side. "I'm a Higurashi, yes," she sighed. "But I work, and I live on my own. My mother cut me off when I moved out. I have to support myself."

"That kind of sucks, huh?"

"I like it better that way, actually," she admitted. "Taking money from my mother gives her the right to control what I do. This way, I can have a degree of independence."

He smiled at her warmly. "You are a very surprising person."

The look she gave him was wary. "Is that good?"

"Very," he assured her. "Come on, I'm jonesing for a bowl of this... "world famous chili" they're advertising."

"Be forewarned," she laughed. "Chili is not for the faint of heart."

"Don't worry about me. I've got a cast-iron stomach."

In all of his life, Inuyasha couldn't remember having a better lunch. And the food had nothing to do with it.

* * *

Shippou stood in front of the full-length mirror in the bathroom. It was slightly hazy from the shower he had taken a little while ago. He was clean, freshly shaved, and dressed in one of his favorite shirts. It was flannel, clean and warm, a dark green that buttoned up in the front. It was his favorite because he had bought it with his own money earned by working at the newsstand. In his eyes, it was better than any of the shirts Miroku could pop into existence. 

"Lookin' good, kid." Looking up into the mirror, Shippou saw Miroku leaning against the door frame. "Going out?"

"I've got a hot date tonight," the teenager replied, tugging on the end of his hair. It was getting long again. If he let it get too long, it could be used against him in a fight. Then again, Rin has said she liked his hair long...

"You should put it up," Miroku commented, walking in to stand behind him. "Girls like it when they can see your face."

"And you're an authority on women?"

"I've known a few in my time," the Jin smiled. "I wasn't always in a knife, you know. I used to be a mortal, like you. Back then, I was thought to be quite irresistible." Shippou scoffed, but Miroku retaliated by messing up his fluffy red locks. "I thought you hated women."

"I never said that," Shippou growled, pulling his hair back into a high tail. "I just hate guys in love, like Inuyasha. He spent all his time mooning after a girl he said was too good for him, but now that he has money, everything's ok? I don't buy it."

"What do you mean?"

Shippou grabbed a small bottle of body spray, applying some under his shirt. "He should've just stuck to his own kind. Rich girls are raised rich, they marry rich, but most of all, the _expect_ rich. I'm not saying they can't love a blue-collar like me or Inuyasha, but they could never be happy with one of us. They're used to the finer things, and once we can't supply it, they're either gone or miserable."

"You're a very cynical boy," Miroku observed. "What makes you think that way?"

He shrugged. "My mom came from money. My dad didn't. She split and my dad became a drunken asshole. Just look at 'Yash! His old man was some huge tycoon, but his family denied he ever existed because his mom was poor." Shippou shook his head again, adjusting his hair one more time. "They come from different worlds than us. Just because we have money now doesn't mean we get an automatic "in". We're still poor at heart."

Miroku listened, leaning his elbow on the sink and resting his head in his palm. "You grew up too fast," the Jin remarked. "You shouldn't be this smart."

Shippou grinned, turning. "How do I look?"

"You could use a few things," Miroku commented. He snapped his fingers, fixing the hole in Shippou's jeans and cleaning off his once-white sneakers.

"Thanks."

"Do you need anything else?"

"I don't think so," Shippou shrugged.

"Money?" Miroku offered.

"I've got it covered. We're not going anywhere fancy. Grab some Chinese, take in a movie."

"Not a high class girl, eh?"

Shippou grinned a little, scratching the back of his neck. "She's happier with actions than a show of money or bravado."

"Ah, a sensible girl," Miroku nodded. "Is she pretty?"

"Very," the teenager nodded. "And she's smarter than me. Plus, she's an artist, so she appreciates the value of little things."

"Sounds like a keeper."

"I'm hoping to make her my girl," Shippou admitted. The tips of his ears went pink, a tell-tale sign of his embarrassment.

Miroku only smiled. "She's not a rich girl, then?"

"She goes to my school, so that would be a no. But she _is _high class. You can tell just by the way she walks. Rin's the kind of girl who knows what she wants and will settle for nothing less. I like that about her."

"Sounds like you, kid," Miroku teased, messing up his hair again as he walked out of the room.

"God, you're as bad as Inuyasha!"

"Speaking of which, where is the master?"

"Burning the midnight oil, I would assume," the teenager said and he smoothed his bangs. "He's been using his vast knowledge to wow the boss lady. He said that she was offering him a fixed position after his "assets" are absorbed into the company."

"Stimulating," the Jin yawned.

"My sentiments exactly," Shippou commented.

"So," Miroku said, zeroing in on Shippou once more, "are you going to pick up your lovely Rin?"

"Naw, we're meeting at the movies."

"What kind of a gentleman are you!" Miroku lectured. "You should pick a girl up from her house, not make her walk to the movies to meet _you_."

"I _would_ pick her up, but she wouldn't tell me where she lives," Shippou retorted. "She has an older brother who would tear me to pieces the second he smelled me on the property, so she says. Frankly, I am more than happy staying whole."

"Not willing to go the distance for love?" The other shook his head. "Kids these days."

"It's our first date," the teenager snapped. "Don't plan the wedding just yet, will you?"

"Ok, ok," Miroku sighed. "But you really should make it up to her, even if it was her idea."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

The immortal was pensive for a long moment, rubbing his chin. "She's an artist, you said, right?"

"Yeah."

Miroku snapped his fingers once, holding out his palm toward Shippou. In his hand appeared a single white lily. "Call it a gift of romance," he explained. "A small gesture. She'll love it."

"Wouldn't a dozen of these things be better?"

"Trust me, Shippou," Miroku said, smiling. "I used to know a girl like yours. She'll like it a lot better than a bulk of roses."

"If you say so," Shippou shrugged, taking the flower. "If 'Yash ever shows up again, tell him I'll be back by midnight. I've got my key."

"Have a good time," Miroku grinned, waving.

Once Shippou was gone, he relaxed back on the couch, grateful for the reprieve of silence for a little while. Visions of the past danced behind his eyes. Could it really be true? Could she be awake, in this very city, right at this moment? Gods, he wished it to be true. Miroku wished that wherever she was, she was safe.

Sango.

His flower.

Her face formed behind his closed eyelids without the slightest effort. She was now as she had always been, in the forefront of his mind. She was his one, his greatest love. He could remember everything about her, from the way she tasted to the way her hair smelled, even the way she felt in his arms. It had been a dozen mortal lifetimes since they had been together, not since the rendering of the Jin. Not since they had been sealed to their fates.

"I'm home."

Inuyasha's arrival broke into Miroku's rememberings. It was just as well. Thinking too much of Sango made his heart hurt unbearably. "Welcome back," the Jin said to his master, sitting up.

"Where's Shippou?"

"He went out," the other replied. "He had a date."

"A _date_? Shippou?" Gold eyes widened and he pressed a hand to his forehead. "Damn, this really is the end of the world, huh? We both have dates in the same day...cosmic."

Miroku grinned. "Good day?"

"Very," Inuyasha replied. He hefted up a bag of fast-food. "I'll tell you about it over dinner. Want some?"

"Of course."

* * *

Shippou stood out in front of the theater, checking the clock inside every thirty seconds or so. He had come early on purpose. It was always easier than trying to create a dramatic entrance. 

He was nervous, though he was loathe to admit it. In all truth, this was his first real date, and it was a little intimidating. Still, it was Rin, who he had eaten lunch with every day since they met. Who he now sat next to in Math class and walked to her locker between fourth and fifth period everyday to make sure the Thunder Brothers didn't bother her, even if that meant him sprinting across the building to meet her at her in the art rooms.

This was Rin, the girl with the sweetest smile he had ever seen.

Twirling the flower in his hands, Shippou paced the front of the theater to keep himself moving and busy. If he stood still, he would only get more nervous. She was going to show up, and they would have a great time just like they always did when they were together. End of story.

"Shippou?"

Blinking dazed green eyes, he turned to find Rin peering at him from a few steps away. He had to swallow back his greeting when he took her in, and could only wave lamely as he found his tongue again. Rin wasn't one who worried much about fashion, being an art student she wore things that were often splattered with paint or smeared with pastel, but she cleaned up good when she wanted to. Her hair was straightened and left down from her usual ponytail, and she was wearing contacts.

"I was getting worried," Shippou told her as he walked to her side.

"You thought I wouldn't show?" she asked, smiling sweetly.

"I thought you came to your senses," he amended. "Oh, here." He thrust the flower at her awkwardly.

Rin accepted it happily. "Oh, it's so pretty! Thank you." She pressed a light kiss to his cheek, and Shippou made a mental note to thank Miroku for his advice. "That was very sweet of you."

"Yeah, well..."

"Oh, are tough guys like you not supposed to be sweet?" she asked, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"We're only sweet to our girls," Shippou replied, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Shall we?"

Rin moved closer into his embrace. "Let's."

Shippou didn't remember much about the movie. His attention had been focused completely on Rin. Whether he was tugging on a piece of her hair, or lightly kicking her shoe, or draping an arm over the back of her chair in a drawn-out and exaggerated gesture, it was all to simply keep her smiling.

Shippou was not a creature of dreaming or illusion. He knew that, in all truth, a smart girl like Rin should want nothing to do with an ex-druggie like him. It was a stroke of pure luck that she seemed to like him as much as she did. Maybe one day soon she'd wake up and realize her mistake, but until then, he would make sure she had fun with him.

"So where do you want to eat?" Shippou asked her after the movie as they walked down the street holding hands.

"Anywhere," Rin replied. "I'm not picky."

"Ah, but it is the gentleman's duty to carry out the wishes of a lady," he commented.

"Since when are we in Camelot?" she joked.

"You don't like men with manners?"

Rin shrugged. "I spend a lot of time around people who pretend to be one thing and mean another. That's what I like about you, Shippou. You're honest and real."

He scoffed a bit. "All the pot I used to smoke fried my brain where I can no longer lie about such things."

She giggled and tugged on his arm, bring him closer so she could hug it to her as they walked. "Remember how I asked you if you were a savior or a thrasher?"

"Yeah?"

He looked down and met her big brown eyes. "If I said I wanted you to be my savior, what would you say?"

"I would say..." He trailed off as he leaned down the few inches to capture her lips with his own. "I would be flattered."

Rin kept her eyes closed a few seconds longer, letting the warm feeling spread through her after the kiss. "You're very good at that."

"Does this mean you're my girl now?" His tone was teasing as he tucked her hair behind her ears, studying her face.

"As long as you want me to be," she said fervently.

They ate at a small pizzeria, then walked around some of the better parts of the shopping District. When it grew late, Shippou insisted on walking Rin home, so they headed in the direction of some nice, if small, apartment complexes.

"You live pretty far from school, huh?" Shippou commented.

"It's not that far," she explained. "The only other school nearby is a private school, and I don't want to go there."

"Too much money?"

"Something like that."

"Hey, it's no big deal. We're Public School brats, none of us really have money. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

Rin smiled a little awkwardly, taking his hand in her own again. "Thanks for walking me."

"I want to make sure you get there safe."

"I'm always safe as long as I'm with you," Rin said with a smile and a blush. "Hiten hasn't made a pass at me since you kicked his ass."

"If he ever does again, I'll give him more than a black eye," the red-head vowed.

"This is my place," Rin said, pointing to a small apartment building with a little porch and some fresh curtains in the window. "Thank you for a great night."

"Thanks for coming out with me," Shippou replied. "Call me tomorrow, ok?"

"Yes," she promised. They shared another brief, chaste kiss before Shippou headed back the way he had come and Rin climbed the small steps and knocked on the front door.

* * *

"You went on a _date_?" Sango asked in shock. She sat demurely in Kagome's ugly easy-chair, a cup of cocoa a few inches from her lip. "I thought you were getting married!"

"There is nothing written anywhere that says I can't go out to lunch with a co-worker," Kagome insisted. She sat on the floor of the living room, playing with a new cat toy she had bought for Buyo. The small kitten scampered after the feathery wand Kagome held just out of reach. "I'm not married _yet_."

After Kagome had returned from work that evening, the pair had enjoyed a leisurely dinner in front of the television and were now winding down before bed. Kagome, dressed in her bedtime sweats, had insisted that she try out every toy she had purchased for Buyo that afternoon. Sango, relaxing in her night shirt, had opted to watch while drinking something warm. It was only now that Kagome commented on her lunchtime arrangements.

"Do you like this man? The one you had lunch with?" Sango asked, sipping her drink and leaning forward.

Kagome shrugged. "Yes. He's the one I told you about, who saved me from the mugger on my birthday. He's handsome, funny, charming...the kind of man that would _never_ have anything to do with me normally. I know he only likes me because I'm a Higurashi."

"Is that alright with you?" Sango asked, moving to sit across from her on the floor.

"Not really, but I'm used to it. That's really the only reason anyone likes me, except for a select few." She looked up to meet the gaze of her worried Jin. "It's the only reason _you_ care about me too."

It stung because it was true, and Sango flinched. "I care about you as a person, Kagome."

"But in the beginning it was just because I was a Higurashi."

"So you're saying you want him to come to like you as Kagome and not as Kagome _Higurashi_?"

"Maybe. I don't really know yet."

Sango shook her head. "Be careful, Kagome. This is a delicate game you're playing."

"Oh, don't worry Sango. It's not like I'm going to fall in love with the guy."

Sango was about to say something else when there was a knock on the door. "Should I?"

"If it was my family, they would have just come in," Kagome explained. "Let me." She got to her feet, scooped up her kitten into her arms, and opened the door.

"Kagome!"

"Rin?"

The teenaged girl launched herself into Kagome's arms. "Oh, Kagome, you've got to help me!"

Kagome adjusted Buyo so he wouldn't be crushed, then wrapped an arm around the frantic teenager, patting her reassuringly on the back as she looked over the girl's head to meet the gaze of her bewildered Jin.

"I'll go put on some water for tea," Sango said with a nod. Kagome simply closed the front door and led the distraught girl into the living room.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, dear readers, Merry Christmas to all of you. This is my gift to all of you who have stuck by me even though I was absent because of school. As a bonus gift, because I love you all so very much, _Unknown_ will be updated before the New Year, so keep an eye out! That's all for now. Happy Holidays everyone! 


	6. Wish 6

**A/N:** Well, here we are! Chapter 6 of Wish Fulfillment. I am actually having a wonderful time with this story. It has officially been pushed up to my favorite. I had originally planned for it to be a very boring and quick retelling, but it's just coming out **so** much better than I expected. I knew from the beginning that I didn't want to do another "genie three-wishes" story, because those get boring quick and are too cliche. I got the idea of Jin from some middle eastern art I was studying for one of my history classes. The idea had a great appeal to me and I decided to base my "genies" off of a more demonic origin. I hope you guys aren't too confused xx! Anyway, thanks for the support of all my readers, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or the Aladdin theory. I own a bunch of techno music which is propelling me into action. (And I also hold hopes of buying Kingdom Hearts 2 with my birthday money!)

_(I wanted to get this chapter out as a kind of "Happy Birthday" to myself. I will be 19 in about 2 hours! My wonderful Beta, Cattykit, will be getting back to me with the edited chapter, which I will then update, so forgive the errors please!)_

* * *

**Wish Fulfillment**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

"Ok, I need you to take a deep breath," Kagome said to her young companion, gently petting her hair. "Then tell me what's going on."

Rin cradled her steaming mug of tea in her hands, staring at the liquid in her cup. "I'm sorry for bursting in here like that, especially at this hour. I should have called you or something. I just...wasn't thinking."

"It's fine," Kagome assured her with a tiny smile. "I always enjoy your abrupt visits."

The younger girl smiled, but it was more of a grimace. Her brown eyes darted from the cup to the third woman in the room, causally and silently leaning against the wall on the far side of the kitchen. Her fair lavender eyes were on the two other women, but she didn't say a word. Kagome and Rin were leaning against the counter, mugs in hand. Kagome had her free arm around Rin's shoulders, holding her in a sisterly way. It came almost second-nature to her. Kagome always was a nurturer, and had always been good at taking care of others.

"When did you get a roommate?" Rin asked, cleverly changing topics.

"A few weeks ago," Sango answered, touching a hand to the cheek with the tattoo almost as a reflex. "I needed a place to stay and Kagome offered me her fold out couch."

"You know," Kagome said, nudging the teenager, "the couch _you_ used to stay on when we had our sleep overs."

Rin sighed, sipping her tea. "I'm sorry I haven't been around much."

"Oh, sweetie, I know you're busy," Kagome said, running her fingers through Rin's hair to brush it back from her face. "You've got applications for college and schoolwork. And I'm sure home is..."

"Home," Rin filled in, looking even more forlorn. "Home is still home."

Kagome hugged her loosely, feeling her pain. "You know you're always welcome to come here. Anytime, day or night." Kagome looked up toward Sango, who nodded her head, offering a sympathetic expression. "Sango and I would never turn you away."

"Not for much longer," the teen commented. Her big brown eyes looked up at her with a knowing sadness. "You're getting married in a few months."

"Rin, baby, my door will always be open to you, no matter where I live or who I'm living with." The teenager looked up at her and Kagome smiled. "We're best buds, right?"

Rin grinned back. "Thanks, Kags."

"Plus, you'll be heading off to college soon," the other girl went on. "So you'll be out of your house. And if you need to, you can stay with me during vacations. We can stuff the holiday bird together, like we used to."

"We always freaked out the boys, didn't we?"

"Are you kidding? A headless bird and cornbread stuffing? They were running for the hills." Rin chuckled and sighed again, drinking more of her tea and calming down. "So, are you going to tell me what brings you here?"

She fiddled with her cup a bit more before putting it down, then Rin began to pace the kitchen. "It's a long story."

"No getting out of it. You show up at my house, and you tell me what or who has the audacity to make you cry."

The teenager shook her head and sighed . "You know why I left private school, right?"

"Something about them not giving you a college recommendation," Kagome replied, racking her brain.

"That was the biggest reason," Rin nodded. "That school had a shitty arts program, and they wouldn't give me any college recommendations if I wanted to pursue Art as a major in college. Mom and Dad weren't happy at first when I wanted to transfer into a public school, but..."

"Your brother convinced them?"

Rin nodded, looking glum. "It wasn't until he said something to them that they listened. But I got the transfer last Spring and I've been going to public school since then, so I can get my Arts recommendation. He convinced them that it wouldn't affect the family since I have a different last name than they do. To them, it's bad enough I'm an artist."

"There is _nothing _wrong with that, Rin," Kagome told her. "You have a wonderful talent, and that is something to be proud of." She wouldn't admit how jealous she was of Rin and her skill at something.

"I didn't care what I did to the family, just so that I could make art," she said, looking at her hands. There were still a few fading paint stains on her fingers.

"I never saw you without a box of crayons when you were a little kid," Kagome mused, looking up toward the ceiling. "Such a grown-up girl in such a tiny body."

"Kagome..."

She looked back at her teenaged friend with a serious expression. When Kagome pinned you with her green-and-blue eyes, they were no way you could lie. "What happened, Rin?"

Rin ran her hands through her hair, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes for a moment to block out the sight of the world. "Everything was going fine...until I met this boy."

"Uh-oh," was all Kagome said.

"Don't say that," Rin begged, grabbing on to Kagome's hand. "I really like him."

"Are we talking school-yard crush, or do we mean _really_ like him?"

"Really," the teenager sighed. "I honestly, truly _like_ him."

Kagome took the empty mug of tea from Rin's grasp, and then took the girl's face between her hands, studying her with her two-toned eyes. Rin stared back at her, up at her, willing her to find whatever it was she was looking for.

As far back as she could remember, Rin remembered Kagome as a cousin of sorts. Always around at family functions, and sometimes for dinners; their parents always sharing champagne and laughing while their well-dressed children sat stiffly and quietly at the table in their pressed, laced clothes.

The first time Rin remembered ever meeting Kagome, she had been four years old. Kagome had been eight. It was some kind of business party, where both her parents were dressed in their finest, mingling with other beautifully dressed people, and utterly ignoring their scared little daughter. She remembered her brother, holding her hand and assuring her that everything would be ok. But he had been called away by their father, who never missed an opportunity to flaunt his eleven-year-old son. His heir.

Alone in a sea of strangers, in a dress that was itchy and puffy and uncomfortable, Rin had begun to cry. The adults around her wrinkled their noses and moved away. No one came near her; no one but thisyoung girl in a frilly pink dress, with her long black hair held up in an impossible design, holding a napkin from one of the shrimp ball trays. Kagome Higurashi, the oldest child of the Higurashi business dynasty, was the only one who cared enough to be kind enough to a scared little girl.

From that day on Rin had always been taken by Kagome, and they were together very often. She was older, but always kind; never condecending like the adults or other older children. She was always paitent, always beautiful without even trying. Kagome was the person Rin had always looked up to the most. Kagome's opinion was one of the only ones that mattered.

And Rin let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when Kagome smiled. "I can practically _smell_ first love on you."

That irritated her. "It's not a joke, Higurashi." Rin shook off Kagome's hold. She felt this intense need to defend Shippou. "He's really sweet to me, and he's very different from the boys we're used to. He _notices_ me, and he's...unconventional."

"Unconventional, how?" Kagome asked, pulling herself up to sit on her kitchen counter. Her legs were swinging slightly and her attention was rapt.

Sango, who had listened silently and respectfully to their exchange, noticed a wistful look steal over Kagome's features. In all truth, an identical look probably came over her own face as she remembered her lost love. Oh, it was always the first loves that left the biggest impression. First love was always, _always_ true love. And it was the one love that never truly left you.

Rin smiled a little. She stuck one hand into the pocket of her coat to fiddle with something hidden in the polyester depths. "He's a gentleman, but can still manage to pull off the tough-guy image. He'll hold a door open for me, or keep an arm around me in a crowd, and at the same time, can beat up two of the biggest assholes in my school. But he's not one of those dickhead bruiser types. And when he looks at me..." Rin looked up at Kagome with stars in her eyes. "He makes me feel special. Safe." She pulled a wilted flower from the pocket of her coat, twirling it around between her fingers. "And it doesn't hurt that he's a looker."

"Of course not," Kagome agreed, smiling. "Granted, you haven't told your brother that you're dating."

"Oh God...if _he_ knew..." She simply shook her head. "I'd be thirty before I got my first kiss."

That drew a giggle from the girl on the counter. "So what's the problem, babe? He sounds like a keeper." But then Kagome narrowed her eyes. "He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"No, no." Rin's big brown eyes filled with guilt and sadness as she lowered them to the floor. "Shippou doesn't know who my family is."

Kagome let out a little sigh of relief, then shrugged. "So why don't you tell him?"

"I don't want him to know!" She looked stricken with horror for a moment. "I don't want that look in his eyes to go away." Rin shook her head. "I don't want him to look at me like I'm some kind of rich-girl freak. Like I'm a liar. I don't want him to see me differently, because he _sees_ me, Kagome. To him, I'm not just a name. I'm just one more person in a long line of sweet-talked naive girls, taken by a pretty face and some pretty words. I'm not just a dollar sign. If I tell him...that will change. And once it's gone, I'll never get it back."

"Oh, Rin," Kagome sighed, hopping off the counter. "Hiding it now will only make it worse later."

"I _hate_ them," Rin whispered vehemently as a single, angry tear was blinked from her eye, rolling its lonely way down her cheek. "I hate them for doing this to me."

"Oh baby, I know." Kagome wrapped her arms around Rin, pulling her into a tight embrace even as the teenager stood rigidly in her hold. "I _know_."

* * *

Kagome closed the door to her bedroom quietly, moving back out into the living room where Sango sat, cross-legged, on the floor. Buyo lay sleeping in her lap, purring lightly as the Jin stroked his fuzzy belly with one finger. Sango, who was partial to dimly lit spaces, was half in shadow and garbed in black. Had it been a few weeks earlier, Kagome might have been surprised or anxious around her, but now, her presence was a familiar comfort.

"Thank you," Kagome commented as she sat down on the couch and pulled the throw blanket around her shoulders.

"For what?" Sango asked, looking up. Her eyes shone in the darkness.

"For letting me share your couch with you," the young heiress commented. "This was an...unforeseen visit."

Sango nodded her head lightly, her long curtain of hair falling around her hunched form like a curtain. "She seemed very upset. Offering my to share my bed was not a great sacrifice." Kagome nodded, her face pensive as she looked out the small living room window. Sango watched her for a few minutes, then interrupted her brooding. "What's wrong?"

She already knew the reason, but Kagome was the kind of person who should talk about her problems rather than bottle them up. _A flower cannot bloom in the shade_, someone had told her once. Kagome made her think of that, a flower too long in the shade who had never had the sun to warm her before.

"I wish there was more I could do for Rin," Kagome replied. "She has _so_ much talent and potential, but no one gives her the time of day. Not even her own parents."

"Does she remind you of yourself?" Sango asked, using her natural insight.

Kagome sighed, sinking deeper into her blanket. "Rin's better than I was, stronger. She's smart and talented and she's had to deal with a lot worse than I did. But I love Rin, and I've always tried to help her as much as I can."

"It seems that your world offers more casualties than successes," the Jin commented, shifting the small kitten on her lap to hand him to his mistress.

Kagome accepted him with open arms. "I was born to a dynasty that expected perfection. It's not uncommon, and I just could never live up to expectations. My brother, he is a success. It's a typical scenario where a family with more than one child has their hits and misses. But Rin is different than us."

"How so?"

"Rin has a very beautiful mother," Kagome explained, petting her silky kitten until he purred. "She was a professional ballet dancer. Her shows were always sold out and she was given remarkable reviews, the pinnacle of a dancer's fame. She fell in love when she was young. Her lover was older than she was and he was very rich. He wooed her with vacations to exotic locations and expensive presents, but they really were very much in love."

"Like a fairy tale," Sango whispered, knowing that nothing ever turned out as wistful as it sounded.

"Oh, it was a fairy tale, for a while. But then she found out that her lover was married, with a six-year-old son." Flashes of anger flew over Kagome's eyes, a hardness appearing that Sango had never seen in her before. "By that time, she was already pregnant with Rin, and her dancing career would not recover from it. "

"Poor dear," the Jin sympathized.

"Oh, don't feel sorry for her," Kagome advised. "Rin was born a bastard, with her mother's name. Even though her father eventually divorced his first wife and married her mother, Rin's mother won't let her take her father's name. It's a kind of revenge aimed at her father, but Rin is used as the tool. I doubt she even cares for her daughter, or should I say "the one who ruined her dancing career". And her father...he has no use for a daughter." Angry, the heiress growled under her breath. "The only one who's ever given her a moment's consideration is her brother."

"He cares for her then?"

"Very much so. The pair of them are...very close." At this, Kagome smiled a bit. "When Rin would get picked on in her private schools, which she always did because she has always been such a big scandal, he would protect her. Even if she's not recognized as a member of the Kasumi family. They are closer as half-blood than I am with my full-blood brother."

"A pity for you, but a good thing for them." As much as she tried to remain objective, Sango felt a twinge of sorrow deep within her chest. A sorrow for herself, for her failure. For her brother.

"They keep each other grounded, I think," Kagome mused. "And the pair of them keep _me_ grounded."

"A very good thing, then," the Jin said with a lazy smile. The other smiled wanly back. "Do you see much of yourself in her?"

Kagome shrugged. "I understand Rin because I used to feel the same way she did. I hated it when other rich kids would pick on me for not going to the right parties and wearing the right clothes. I never fit in with them, even when I tried and wanted to. Rin is the same way, but she is just so _talented_. You have to see some of her work. I'll tell you, that girl will go places! And she's just so smart, and sweet. It's hard for me to understand how people don't just fall in love with her. But her parents only use her to get back at each other, and the people they want her to hang around treat her worse."

"At least she has you," Sango pointed out. "You seem close."

"We were like sisters growing up," Kagome grinned. "She's only four years younger than me, so she'd come over to my house all the time and we'd go out. Rin was one of my only friends. Real friends, that is. I had plenty of fake friends try to hang out with me for money."

Sango surveyed her for a long moment. "You don't trust many people, do you?"

"Trust is hard," the other replied. "Love and affection, friendliness and kindness...they are easily offered, easily excepted. Trust is a commitment that must be lived up to, and everyone I have ever trusted has let me down...one way or another. I just want to spare her that."

"What are you going to do? About this boy she's dating."

"What _can_ I do?"

"She came to you for help," the Jin said, brushing back her long hair. "She looks up to you, and thinks you'll have all the answers."

Kagome blew out a heavy breath. "She's too afraid to tell him anything about her parents or the money, and if she won't tell him, I can't make her."

"But you know that her hiding it will only make her think it's all right to lie."

"Rin's too smart for that."

"But she's still young. She looks to you for guidance, or she would have gone somewhere else."

"What would_ you_ do?"

Sango smiled and shook her head. "I have no sister, so I would not know how to answer this question."

Kagome sighed. "You're no help at all." Sango only chuckled. Kagome sighed again and toyed with her kitten a bit. "It's just so _hard_. Finding someone who can understand you and make you feel...special... who am I to tell her to give him away?"

"You would be her responsible sister," Sango nodded. "But I do understand what you mean. And as I said before, the decision is yours."

Kagome smiled, cradling Buyo in her arms. "I'll probably regret it, as I always do."

* * *

The aliens had strategically positioned themselves over the major cities of the world. Meanwhile, some bespeckled man on a bicycle raced around trying to save the planet.

Miroku sat on the couch, a box of graham crackers between his legs and a mug filled with milk in his hands. He had never been one for sweet things. They were a luxury given only to the rich and well off, and when a kid grew up as poor as he had, sugar was not something you had often. When he had gotten older, and mingled with those of a higher status, he had learned to like sugar. Now, he enjoyed the honey taste of crackers, but milk was still his favorite drink.

That harked back to the goats he raised as a child.

Miroku had been born poor, and raised poor, and had been poor for all of his human life. One could even consider him to be poor now, since he had nothing of his own. Not even his own life. The funny thing was, being poor had never bothered him, not even when he had pretended to be rich. He had always been the kind of person that could see the good in his situation despite all obstacles. And Miroku was the kind of man who always had faith.

As he watched the movie, he dunked his crackers into the milk, munching eagerly as he watched the large-screened television. As he did so, Inuyasha emerged from the back hallway, his hair askew and his clothes rumpled from sleep. He growled once, rubbing his eyes as he walked into the kitchen. Miroku watched as he poured himself some coffee and walked back out into the living room a minute later, depositing himself on the couch.

There was a moment of silence when he glanced at the television before saying, "Why are you watching _Independence Day_?"

"I don't know," Miroku commented, as he drank his milk. "I was fiddling with the little black thing and this was the first thing to pop up. It looked interesting so I thought I'd watch." Stretching a bit, he turned toward his master. "Is there anything I can get for you?"

"No," the other replied, holding up his mug, "coffee." Then, almost as an afterthought, he looked around the room. "Where's Shippou?"

"He's still sleeping. The boy was out late with his flame again last night."

"I still find it hard to believe that Shippou got a girlfriend before _I_ did," Inuyasha grumbled into his mug as he drank some more of his caffeine.

"Things not going well with your beloved?"

Inuyasha scratched the back of his head with a frown. "It's not going _bad_, per ce. It just doesn't seem to be going."

"What's the matter?" Miroku picked up the remote and clicked off the television. Then he turned, placing his milk on the coffee table and focused all his attention on his master. "Talk to Miroku."

"I think she likes me," the young man confessed. "We have fun when we go out for lunch or just hang around the office. And I know she's flirting with me, but when I ask her out she just kind of changes the subject." Inuyasha sighed, shaking his head. "Women are complicated."

The Jin scoffed and ran a hand through his hair. "I can understand _that_ feeling perfectly."

"Hey, Miroku..."

"Hm?"

"Are their female Jin? Or do you like human women...or what?"

The smile Miroku flashed was almost wolfish if there wasn't a bit of kindness to soften it. "There are Jin women, but I haven't always been in a knife, Inuyasha. There was a time when, in my prime, the ladies adored me."

Inuyasha's smile was doubtful. "I'm very sure."

"Oh, it's true," the other assured him. "I charmed my way into the affections of many sheltered and beautiful flowers. It was part of my job, one could say."

"Your job was the hit on women?"

Miroku shrugged. "I was a con man. A thief."

Inuyasha widened his gold eyes. "A thief? Then how did you become a Jin?"

"That is a long story," Miroku commented, shrugging. The action brought Inuyasha's attention back to the tattoo scrawled into Miroku's arm. A calligraphy M. "That is part of it," he said, noticing where Inuyasha's attention had wandered to. "It's a mark of imprisonment."

"You get that when you become a Jin?"

"It's a standard mark of induction. I guess you could call it a 'blood sacrifice'. When we give up our free will, our identity, we are marked to ensure that vow is never broken." He tapped the mark lightly. "The power bestowed on us sears into our flesh."

"Did it hurt?"

Miroku shrugged. "Think of it as someone taking a red-hot poker and carving a pretty design into your arm." Inuyasha winced. "After it was finished, the pain was relieved because I became an immortal. I don't get sick; any wounds I have are healed almost instantly, even mortal ones. The only true pain I feel anymore is the scars on my soul. And the only time _this_ thing hurts is if another Jin is doing something they shouldn't."

"So you're connected to the others." Inuyasha lifted his legs from the ground, and hugged them to his chest in a child-like action that made him look younger than he was. "It must be weird."

"There are only four of us now," he commented with a half-shrug. "I'm the youngest of us all, and because I am seldom released, my ability to sense the others is dim. My best tracking sense is when the mark starts bleeding."

Inuyasha nodded. "I know about blood."

"It wasn't always like this," Miroku lamented with a half-smile. "I remember grand halls filled with the jewels of the world. I cherished the days I could sleep at night with a full stomach and the kiss of a beautiful woman still on my lips." Then his eyes sobered and he shook his head. "Such a life was very different from what I have now."

"If you don't mind my asking," Inuyasha commented, running his finger around the rim of his mug, "why did you become a Jin?"

"The same reason a man does anything foolish," the other laughed. "For the love of a woman." Inuyashachuckled then, a little ironically. Miroku joined him after a moment, and the two of them shared a rare moment of peace that came in a lifetime.

They shared a comfortable silence for a short while longer, until Shippou wandered out from his room. His hair stuck up in several odd angles, and his eyes were half-closed, but he plopped himself in the center of the living room and stared up at both Miroku and Inuyasha. "Can I talk to you guys?"

"What's up, runt?" Inuyasha asked with a half-smile.

"I think I'm in love." This was met with a wall of silence, the end of which came when Miroku and Inuyasha both broke into hysterical laughter. Shippou, who was not normally a patient individual, waited it out with relative calmness. "It's not all _that _funny," he muttered, more to himself than them.

"Aren't you the one who asked me to shoot you if you ever fell in love?" Inuyasha asked, wiping an invisible tear from his eye.

"That was _before_," Shippou sighed, as if he were talking to a small child. "If you knew Rin, you'd understand."

"How can you be in love? You only met the girl, what...a month ago?"

"Says the man who was in love with a girl he never even _spoke_ to for almost a year!"

"Watch it, punk!"

"Then don't belittle me, jerk face!"

"Personally, I think it's a good thing," Miroku announced. Both Shippou and Inuyasha turned to look at him. "The purpose of a man's life is to gain the love of a woman, isn't it?"

"Thank you, Miroku," Shippou said with a grin. "At least _you_ understand."

"I understand!" Inuyasha protested. "I was just surprised by your blunt declaration."

"Well, I saw no point in beating around the bush," he said contrarily. "I need your advice."

"What's your question?" the Jin asked with a smile.

"I just...I've never been in this kind of relationship before and I'm kind of confused on how I act, or how we move to the 'next level'."

Inuyasha got to his feet, placed his mug on the table, and clapped his hands together. "I'm out," he said, holding them up and open. Then, without another word, he picked up his and Miroku's dishes and headed into the kitchen. Shippou watched him go with a frown, but Miroku only chuckled.

"Interesting fellow, that one," he commented.

"He's not in touch with his feelings," the teenager responded.

"Perhaps." Then Miroku grinned. "So now we must go about fixing your problems."

Shippou fidgeted a bit, sighing. "It's a little embarrassing, but Rin is my first girlfriend. I don't know how to act some of the time. I'm not all that romantic, or suave. And...I'm still a virgin."

"There isn't anything wrong with that," Miroku coached. "I'll bet you all the water in the Nile that Inuyasha has never known the touch of a woman."

"I heard that!" the former grumbled from the kitchen.

Miroku continued as if there had been no interruptions. "Your Rin is a woman of class, so it doesn't sound like she would be looking for a man of experience. She seems to return your feelings, right?" Shippou nodded. "Then there is no reason for you to worry. When you are in love, things have a way of working themselves out."

"I feel guilty though," he admitted quietly. "I put on this appearance of being a poor, hard working student...but now that Inuyasha found you, and I moved in here...my life hasn't been all that hard. I always have food to eat, anything material I want is at my fingertips...I feel like I'm lying to her."

"Listen to me, runt," Inuyasha suddenly injected, walking into the room with a dishrag over his shoulder. "You're not lying to anyone. You've worked your ass off for seventeen years. You had to put up with your old man, and me as a boss, and crack-heads from school, and you turned out to be an honestly good kid. A few months of the 'good' life is not going to make you a lazy or bad person."

Shippou was taken aback for a minute, then cocked his head to one side. "Is this what you use to reassure yourself?"

"Hell no," he said with a haughty sniff. "I _am_ lying. You're not. So don't feel guilty and don't let that get in the way of the girl you're crazy about. There's hope for you, boy." In any normal family situation, two brothers would share a hug and a laugh. Shippou flushed a bit, and hit Inuyasha in the arm with a grin. The other rubbed his arm, grumbling about dumb kids, and went back to the kitchen to finish washing the dishes.

"I am still amazed by the pair of you," Miroku commented with a half-lidded smile. "Honest affection is rare these days, from what I understand of the television I watch."

Shippou shrugged. "We're nothing special."

"I never had a sibling, so I don't know what that kind of love is like. I did know a girl, once, who loved her younger brother above all things. When I watch the two of you, that is what I think of."

"You knew a lot of girls in your day, huh?" Shippou asked, leaning forward as if eager to learn.

"Actually, I only _knew_ one. Most of the women I came into contact with, I only knew for a day or two and never saw them again. To truly know a person, one has to know all of them, smile and tears, laugh and screams. The good and the bad." The Jin chuckled then. "Or so I was taught, and that is all my sage advice for the day."

"It was good advice," Shippou assured him. "But now, I have kind of a favor to ask you." His ears turned pink at his and he ducked his head a little. "Our one-month anniversary is in two days. Rin is having me over to her place for dinner and I was hoping you'd know something I could get her, but not flowers or anything tacky."

Miroku grinned and leaned back on to the couch. "You know the girl, not me," he said. "You know what she likes. Even if it's just something that will make her smile, I'm sure she'd adore it."

"Just make sure you don't treat her house as bad as you do ours!" Inuyasha yelled from the kitchen.

Shippou sent a glare in the general direction of the kitchen, and then got to his feet. "I'm going back to sleep. Thanks again Miroku."

"My pleasure, young master."

* * *

Rin was running around the kitchen in a bathrobe and socks, sliding across the tiles as she turned down the heat on one pot and moved the saucepan off of the flame to cool slightly. The microwave dinged, signaling that the meat had thawed and she quickly brought it over to the cutting board.

Kagome stood nearby, leaning against the doorframe to the living room. "Are you sure you don't want any help?" she asked for what seemed to have been the fiftieth time.

"Yes," Rin panted. "I want to make this dinner myself."

"Call me if you need anything, ok?" Kagome asked, smiling a little. Rin waved her hand over her head, not taking her concentration off of the task at hand. Kagome giggled a little and moved into the living room. Sango was sitting on the comfy chair, reading a book with Buyo asleep on her lap. "So," she said, tossing herself across the couch. "What do you want to do tonight?"

Sango looked up from her novel with a level expression. "You plan to leave them alone in your apartment?"

"For a few hours," the heiress agreed. "I trust Rin. And, I don't really want to stick around for all this puppy love." She gave a mock shiver and grinned.

"What would _you_ like to do?" Sango asked. She placed a bookmark securely in her novel and put it aside. "We could take in dinner and a show, maybe in Paris? Or we could go for Chinese in Beijing."

"How about tea with the queen?"

"Your wish is my command," the Jin responded politely.

Kagome thought for a few minutes, her pretty face pensive. "How about a movie? I haven't been to one in _ages_. Ayame and I would go almost every weekend when we lived together."

"You've mentioned Ayame before," Sango commented. "If you don't mind my asking, who is she?"

Kagome grinned. "Ayame Inoue," she explained. "We were roommates in college. Because I graduated early, she's still a student. We were the best of friends."

"Were?"

"Oh, we're still friends, just not as close as before. I work and she's still in school, so we hardly get to see each other now a days. Ayame is a real wild-child, always fun to be around. It was never a dull moment when we spent a night on the town." Kagome's grin widened. "When we were nineteen, both of us got so drunk that we spent a night wandering around the Shopping District wearing our clothes backwards. And the week before I graduated, the two of use went and got a tattoo together."

Sango's hand strayed to the side of her face. "You have one?"

"Yeah. No one knows about it though. I've been careful, especially around my mother. It's a secret between Ayame and me."

"Why tell me?" Sango asked, tilting her head.

Kagome looked up at her, her blue and green eyes meeting lavender with a thoughtful expression. "I don't know. In some ways, I feel like I've known you forever, Sango. Does that sound weird?"

"No," the Jin commented. "I feel the same way."

"Kagome!" Rin called. Getting up, Kagome brushed her unruly hair over her shoulder.

"Coming!" She threw a smile at Sango. "I'll be back."

"Take your time," she replied, holding up her book. "I'm good."

"What is it Rin?" Kagome asked as she entered the kitchen.

Rin looked down into a skillet that was slightly smoking, the meat and vegetables within charred black. She sniffled once, then twice. "I burned it."

"Oh, sweetheart," Kagome laughed, wrapping her arms around the younger girl. "Don't cry!" She took the pan from Rin's hands and turned her around so that she faced the hall toward the bedroom. "You let me finish up here, and _you_ go get ready. You're beloved boy should be here in an hour, right? Can't have you smelling like burnt chicken and wearing dirty socks now can we?"

"B-but, you're already doing so much for me already!" Her voice rose to a kind of wail that Kagome only smiled knowingly at.

"Because I love you," was her response to said wail. "Now go get ready and I will finish in here."

"But--"

"No buts, just go." Like a woman on death row, Rin trudged out of the kitchen and toward the bedroom with a gloomy cloud hanging over her head. Kagome only laughed some more as she slid the congealed mass out of the skillet and into the garbage. "Looks like a simple fair," she announced to no one, rolling up her sleeves.

Kagome, who was used to creating lavished meals out of basically nothing, was able to reconsile the meal in about forty minutes. The same time it took Rin to shower, fix her hair and change into something pretty. This particular something pretty was a long black shirt and a white belly shirt embroidered with roses. Clothes she had rumaged out of Kagome's clothes.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"As always, my clothes look better on you," the older girl nodded.

"If you would actually wear them, they'd look good on _you_," Rin shot back. She twirled around the kitchen once, then surveyed the food Kagome had prepared. "Oh, Kags..." Overwhelmed, she simply threw her arms around the other. "You are the best friend anyone could ever ask for."

Kagome returned the embrace with a kind of sad look that she quickly masked when Rin backed away from her. "Now, do I get to meet Mr. Wonderful, or are you going to kick me out now?"

"You can meet him, but how should I introduce you?" Rin thought for a moment, twirling a piece of her hair around her finger. "I guess I could just say that you're the girl who is going to marry my brother."

"Never mind with the formalities," Kagome suggested. "Just say I'm your roommate."

"But we're _family_," Rin insisted.

"Thank you," the heiress said with a grin. "But, speaking of your brother, does he realize where you are?"

"Oh, he knows I'm here," she explained. "I just left Shippou out of my explanation."

"You little liar," Kagome teased, poking her cheek playfully.

"Come on, come on," Rin said, batting her hand away. Their play was interrupted by the doorbell. "He's here! How do I look?"

"Perfect," Kagome assured her, tugging a bit on the hem of the shirt. "I'll go let him in."

Kagome left the kitchen and crossed the living room. Sango had placed Buyo on the ground and was already at the door, ready to open it. Kagome grinned and moved toward the closet. "I'll get our coats; you can let the poor boy in."

Sango nodded and opened the door. On the front step stood a rather nervous-looking teenaged boy with bushy red hair held up in a ponytail and sharp, honest green eyes. Sango rather liked the look of him, and personally thought that he would become even more of a charmer once his good looks fell into their more permanent fixtures.

"Hello, you must be Shippou."

"Yes," he said, a little shyly. His ears turned pink and Sango thought it made him moreadorable.

"Please come in, Rin is waiting for you."

"Thank you," he replied politely, stepping into the house.

"We're just on our way out," Kagome explained as she stepped up beside Sango, handing the other hercoat. "Don't mind us."

Shippou's eyes widened as they fell on Kagome. He opened his mouth to say something, but then Rin walked into the room. "Shippou," she called with a grin. He turned to his girlfriend and smiled, but then he turned back to the other two women as they closed the front door behind them.

"Rin," he said contemplatively.

"Yes?"

"Who were they?"

"Oh, that was just Kagome, my sister, and her roommate, Sango. Why?" She moved to stand next to him, her expression questioning.

"Your sister?"

"Yeah. What's wrong?"

Shippou shook his head and smiled. "Nothing. I just thought I recognized her, that's all."

"Oh, well, they work at an office building not far from here. Didn't you say that you worked at a newsstand in one of them?"

"Yeah, that's probably where I've seen her." He shook his head again. "Sorry, my manners are shot tonight." He leaned forward and kissed her cheek softly in greeting. "You look beautiful, as always."

"Thank you," she blushed, beaming him a smile. "Come on in. Dinner is prepared so we should eat before it gets cold."

"Oh, here, before I forget," he said, handing her a small, thin box. It looked like a jewelry box that a necklace would be in, but when Rin opened it, she was far more delighted than she would have been with jewelry. Inside lay three paintbrushes with white bristles and black handles. "The guy at the craft store said these are, like, the best fan brushes some can get that aren't custom made."

"I love them," Rin said, hugging him tightly. "You are the best boyfriend in the world, you know that?"

"I was hoping," he joked. "Now where's dinner? I'm starving."

Rin giggled. "Right this way."

He followed, letting his sudden worry drift away. Sure that woman had _looked _like Kagome Higurashi, even had the same name, but it couldn't have been her. Rin's name was Murakami, and that girl was Rin's sister. She couldn't have been Kagome Higurashi, so he would simply write it off as a coincidence. He'd probably seen her around Higurashi Towers and confused the two. That's all.

There wasn't any cause to worry...

Yet.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, and we are done with Chapter 6. Everyone know who Rin's brother is yet? Don't worry, I'm going to drag out this little revelation for another few chapters, then have a nice blowout. Muhahaha! Also, expect an _Unknown _update in the next week or so. I've got some evil ideas for that coming up too. Oh, the plot bunnies are at work, readers dear, and they are giving me great things to go on! 


	7. Wish 7

**A/N:** Here we go my beloved readers, the next true installment of my beloved story. I had planned to update sooner, but my hunt for work is still ongoing and my leisure time is limited. Still, I have so much planned out for my summer (check my bio page for more information). You can expect updates from my two on-going series (_Wish Fulfillment _and _Unknown_) and look for the debut chapter of my newest mini-series _Behind The Scenes_ coming soon. Thanks to all of you who stuck by me, you guys are the best readers in the world! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or anything there in. If I did, I would be a much happier girl. As it is, I am a poor college student looking for work and trying to get a short-story published.

* * *

**Wish Fulfillment**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

"I'm going out tonight."

Both Sango and Rin stopped playing with Buyo to openly stare at Kagome, who fiddled with the sleeves of her sweatshirt as she stood in front of them. Buyo still pawed at the toy in Rin's hand, oblivious to the working of humans. Rin herself simply blinked up at Kagome in surprise. Sango remained pensive.

"But, Kagome," Rin said tentatively. "You _never_ go out."

"I am tonight," she stated, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear bravely. "And you know what that means."

"What?" the teenager asked carefully.

"No parties," Kagome said, in her best impression of her mother's voice. "No boys over. No staying up past curfew and you better not bug Sango too badly, or she'll rat you out."

The Jin covered her smile with a fake cough as she got to her feet. "I take it you don't want me to come with you?" she asked.

"No. This is something I've gotta do." Kagome, wearing her casual clothes of jeans and a baggy college sweatshirt, checked her watch and headed for the door. It was the end of April now, and it was hoodie weather. "I'll be back in a couple hours, so you two play nice."

"Do you have a date or something?" Rin asked, eyes huge with curiosity.

"It's...complicated," the young heiress replied with a tired smile. "See ya."

Rin and Sango waved lamely as she disappeared, then turned to one another. "Do _you_ know where she's going?" they asked in unison. Then shook their heads.

"She didn't say anything to me," Rin replied, picking up Buyo and cuddling him on her lap.

"Nor to me," Sango replied thoughtfully. "Strange. I wonder if she's going out with that man from work..."

"What man?" the younger woman asked, leaning forward.

"There is this investor at the company that's been pursuing Kagome for some time now," Sango explained, her eyes dancing. "He takes her out to lunch and will drop by her office whenever he has the chance."

"That's so cute!" Rin giggled. "Sounds like he has a crush on her."

"What worries me is that she might have a crush on him as well," the Jin commented. "If I'm not mistaken, she's supposed to be marrying your brother in a matter of months, isn't she?"

Rin shrugged, rubbing her nose against Buyo's. "It's complicated."

"Indeed." Sango looked toward the door and sighed.

In truth, Kagome had not gone far. She was still sitting on the front step, chewing on the drawstring of her hood as she waited for her "date" to show up. She had told him six. It was already near six thrity, but the boy never was good at telling time. In a way, it was better like this. It gave her more time to prepare for what she was actually going to say to him. For an hour that night, Kagome has stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, coaching herself for an intense conversation.

Just as she began thinking about going inside and calling him, a familiar car drove up to the curb and an even more familiar man got out.

Kagome smiled at Kouga as she got to her feet. He was dressed as casually as she was, in jeans and a flannel shirt. His hair was wet from a recent shower and there were circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, but he was still handsome. For most of her life, Kagome considered Kouga to be the most attractive man she had ever seen. Now, he was number two, but no less a hottie.

"You're late, cockfag!" Kagome called to him, smiling brilliantly.

"Traffic's a bigger bitch than you are," he called back, stepping up in to the sidewalk and opening the passenger door to his sleek black sports car. "Come on. I've got us reservations at the best restaurant in town." Kagome descended from her front steps with all the grace of a queen. She even accepted his hand when he offered to help her into the car. Kouga closed it for her when she was securely inside, and then walked back around to slide into the driver's seat. "I was surprised when you called me. How've you been?"

"Busy," she admitted. "But I'd say you're the same." She touched a hand to his face, just under his right blue eye. "Been sleeping?"

"Not much," Kouga replied with a grin. "But there is no rest for the wicked."

"Don't work _too _hard."

"I won't, Mom." She whacked him in the arm for that, to which he promptly whimpered. "Don't abuse me when I'm driving, you madwoman."

"You're lucky you are driving, or I'd do worse."

"Can you see me shaking?"

Kagome sighed, smiling, and settled into her seat comfortably. "How's work?"

"It's going," he replied. She noticed that the set of his shoulders changed as he spoke. It had become a sensative subject. "Dad is well underway with the merger plans and I'm just going along for the ride."

"I feel like it's my fault," she confessed.

"It's not," Kouga assured her, flashing his thousand-watt smile at her. "We're here!"

Kagome looked up just as Kouga parked in front of a rather shady looking Wendy's. When they were inside, she couldn't help but giggle as he ordered one of everything on the menu and then asked if she wanted anything. Kouga had always been able to cheer her up just as she had always been able to cheer him; they were weird like that. After he paid for their meal, Kouga drove Kagome to one of the several small parks that littered the city and they ate their food on a park bench. Then they raided the playground and conquered the swing set away from a pair of ten-year-olds who whined and went on the slide.

"So," Kouga called as he pumped his legs, "are you ever going to tell me why you called?"

"Can't I call you without an ulterior motive?" she asked innocently, flying back.

"You sounded like there was something you wanted to say."

"There is," she admitted, digging her heels into the chipped wood under her swing, slowing her motion to tiny circles. Kouga did the same so he could listen to her properly. Kagome stared at her feet as she tried to come up with some clever words. "I wanted to get your permission on something."

"Permission?" he asked, taken aback.

Kagome struggled for a moment before she met his worried gaze. "How's Ayame?"

Kouga opened his mouth, thrown for a loop by the change of subject. He floundered for words, but then regained himself. "She's fine. Finals start in a week or two so she's been busy with papers and such. But what does she have to do--"

"Am I allowed to date?" she blurted out, a blush of shame spreading over her face.

Kouga balked. "What?"

"Am I allowed to date? Other people, I mean." She couldn't look at him now. "I know our wedding is in a couple months and it's a very weird situation, but I was just wondering if I would be allowed considering our respective positions."

"Kagome..."

"If you don't want me to," she said sincerely, looking up at him again, "I won't do it."

Kouga looked wounded for a second, and then smiled a little sadly. "If you want to date, then I will certainly not stop you," he told her, reaching out to grasp her hand. "I would never deny you the right to live a normal life, Kagome."

"It's not a revenge thing, Kouga. I'm not asking this in that 'if you get to then I want to' way."

"I know." They were quiet again for a few moments before Kouga ventured to speak again. "Got anyone in mind?"

Kagome blushed again, hanging her head. "There's a man I work with. I like him. He makes me laugh. He's been asking me out for a while now, but I didn't know whether I should say yes or not until I asked you."

"Just don't lead him on too long," the man beside her said. "It'll just hurt him the longer you go."

"I know," she replied, kicking the wood chips under her feet.

"Sucks, don't it?"

"Uh-huh."

They were quiet again for a few minutes before Kouga moved on to a neutral topic. They talked and joked around another hour or so before Kouga offered to take Kagome back to her apartment. By then it had gotten dark and the bright lights of the city threatened to intrude. As they walked back to Kouga's car, Kagome pulled him down to the ground.

"Do you remember going camping when we were kids?" she asked, lying on her back on the ground. Her head was pillowed on his shoulder.

"You mean the summers at the country club when we would drag our sleeping bags down by the lake?" he countered.

"Yeah," Kagome giggled. "We'd pretend to be roughing it but we could still hear the music from the lodge."

"We couldn't even have a fire."

"It was the only time I've ever seen so many stars." Both stared up at the empty sky, dark but polluted by so much light only three or four of the brightest stars could be seen. In Kagome's eyes she saw the clear summer sky filled with more stars than she could ever count.

"I could name almost all the constellations," Kouga admitted. "Now I'm lucky if I can recognize the Big Dipper."

"Do you think we can go back there after we're married?"

"Whenever you want," he promised. For some reason she couldn't understand, that made Kagome want to cry. Her eyes welled and she sniffled once, but was able to repress the feeling. "Come on," Kouga said, getting up and pulling her to her feet. "Let me take you home."

* * *

"So you can understand why I would be worried."

"Yes, I understand."

A young man spoke into his cell phone as he absently typed numbers into his calculator and sketched numbers on to a piece of scrap paper. His room was small and unadorned; most possessions were boxed away already. There were faint outlines along the walls to indicate where a poster had hung, and there were spaces on the dusty dresser to suggest objects had been removed. The occupant of the room sat at a small wooden desk, doing his last-minute homework as he took the phone call, only half-listening.

"How are your Finals going?"

"Good," he replied, putting down his pencil in order to rub his tired eyes. "I just need to finish crunching some numbers for a lab report that's due tomorrow, but other than that, I'm finished."

"You'll be home tomorrow afternoon, right?"

"Yes. The car is coming to pick me up at four, so I'll be home in time for dinner."

"That's wonderful. It will be so good to have you home again."

"Thank you, Mother." The line was quiet for a moment, only the sound of light breathing and the clicking of calculator buttons in his ears. He was well versed in this kind of silence. It meant that something was to be done, and he would have to do it. It had been that way since he was a little kid. He was the cleaner of messes. "What is it, Mother?"

"I was hoping you might do something for me," she said. "I would if it was in my power, but since your father died and I've had to do everything by myself..." She let it fall off, but he knew the words that would come if he prompted them. It was a familiar speech that was supposed to invoke guilt, but now it only annoyed him. He would have rather she get to the point and tell him what she wanted him to do straight out.

"What do you need?"

His mother sighed. In his mind, he could see her sitting at her mahogany desk, rest her head in her hands as if the weight of the world rested on her shoulders. He was sure there would be a new worry line etched into her face when he saw her, just like there would still be dark circles under her eyes. His poor beautiful, capable mother.

"Could you go talk to her? Just for a little while. I know she'd be ecstatic to see you. She adores you, you know."

"I know."

"Would you go see her? She refuses to talk to me and--"

"Sure, I'll go see her."

"You will?"

"I haven't seen her in a while. It would be nice to see how she's holding up...considering the situation since her birthday."

"Thank you, Souta."

Words he was used to danced through his mind and he smiled a little to himself. Those were the words he danced his life to, to be loved. "Of course, Mother."

"I'll see you tomorrow night." And then she was gone.

Souta Higurashi closed his cell phone with a grunt and tossed it on to his bed without a second glance. He looked back to his math thesis, finishing it off with a few more equations. It hadn't been particularly hard, but it required time to check his work and to copy it on to another paper. Even though it wasn't that hard, he would repeatedly run his hands through his shaggy head of black hair and chew on the end of his pencil.

Math was his world; numbers were his friends. Math was always easy for him, ever since he was in the third grade. The beauty in math was that there was only one answer to every question. There was nothing magical or fantastical about it. He could always rely on the answers his work provided, even if that was the only thing in the world he had to believe in.

Once he was finished, he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms behind his head, arching his back. He could rest a little now. Souta pressed his knuckles to his strained eyes and felt a little defeated. Maybe he should call Kagome and see if he could swing around and go to lunch with her tomorrow. Or maybe it would be better to just show up like a surprise. Oh, but she hated surprises. Always had. If there was one thing he knew about his sister, it was that.

In some ways, Souta regretted giving in to his mother and saying he'd go visit her. He and Kagome had never gotten along very well. Kagome had always been the favorite, and Souta was always playing the catch-up. Trying to be worthy. Kagome was older, and had gotten to know their father; it was a sore spot between them that had always been the source of their fighting. His sister didn't adore him, but he didn't adore her either.

He tossed a glance at the clock. It wasn't even after four yet. If he caught the four thirty bus, he could make it to Kagome's apartment by six. Then he could barge in, have a little chat with her about their mother, and get back to school before eight. There would be plenty of time to copy his thesis before tomorrow.

Souta pulled himself to his feet, cracking his back. He changed into something less rumpled and dragged a brush through his hair. It wasn't that he felt the need to be presentable for his sister; it was just out of habit. He checked his wallet to make sure he had enough for bus fare two ways, and then locked up the room. The stop was close so he had time to sit around and think about what he was going to say to Kagome.

They had never been terribly close, and he knew it would annoy her to just show up. Kagome would put on that fake smile like she always did when he and their mother was around, and she would make nice and pretend that everything was wonderful and it would annoy the shit out of him as much as it always did. That was the way she was.

Their mother created the messes.

Souta cleaned them up.

And Kagome made everyone forget they ever happened.

It had been different when their father was alive. He had been the rock, the one that kept them all together and sane. But he was gone now, and life had morphed into what it was. An ever-growing pit of denial and barely veiled distaste.

* * *

"Kagome, I'm speechless!" Rin giggled for the millionth time.

"And yet, you're still talking," the heiress replied.

Sango couldn't help but giggle along from where she sat on the couch, watching the other two play with the small, cubby kitten that padded between them after a catnip mouse. Rin had, as she had for several weeks now, showed up at the apartment that night after Kagome returned from work. The three were spending another fun evening of baited conversation and cat torture.

"He asked you, just like that?"

"I've told you, Rin. He's asked me practically every day for two weeks. This time I just happened to say yes."

"So you're really going on a date with this guy?"

"Why not?" Kagome asked with a shrug. "I was given official permission. I think it'll be fun to go out for once."

"You must admit that it _is_ unusual," Sango commented.

"I never said it was normal, but then again, nothing in my life is normal."

"Think of it this way," Rin commented with a cheeky smile. "Your life is full of adventure."

"That's for sure," Kagome laughed. "I never know what's going to happen next."

And it just so happened that the doorbell rang at that precise moment.

"Spooky," Rin said, hugging the kitten to her chest.

"Cowards," Kagome hissed, getting up to go to the door. She was still smiling when she opened it, but that look melted like snow in summer when she saw her brother in the doorway. "Souta."

"Hello, Kagome," he said, forcing a quicksilver smile. They were silent for a moment. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, yes!" She recovered quickly, opening the door wide and ushering him in. "Please. Sorry, I was just surprised. I wasn't expecting you."

"I know. I thought of calling first, but--" He trailed off when he noticed the audience in the living room. He hadn't expected anyone to be there; Kagome didn't entertain. He recognized the one of the floor immediately to be Rin Murakami. He had grown up with her just as Kagome did, and he knew the pair of them were still good friends. The second woman on the couch, however, was a stranger. But judging from the letter tattoo scrawled across her cheek, he had his guesses.

"I was under the impression that you were still in school," Kagome commented, trying to keep conversation going.

"I still have a thesis to submit," Souta said, clearing his throat. "But other than that, I'm done."

"Hello, Souta," Rin said, smiling a little shyly.

"Hi, Rin," he responded, returning her smile in kind.

"Shall I make us some tea?" Sango offered, feeling the tension in the air.

"Are you going to conjure it?" Souta asked, tilting his head to the side as he looked at her. "You _are_ the Jin, aren't you?"

Kagome's two-toned eyes widened at his words, and Sango seemed just as speechless. Rin was not so stricken. "What did you say?"

"I was simply inquiring as to whether...You are aware she's a demon, aren't you?"

Rin stared at him as if he had grown a second head. He only stared back at her, as rational as ever. Kagome was having a panic attack in the background, and Sango hastened to her side. "Kagome, are you well?"

"I'm having a panic attack."

"Souta, what the _hell_ are you talking about?" Rin asked him, getting up from the floor. "Have you been getting enough sleep?"

He sighed and turned to look at his sister. "Well, it seems she hasn't told you."

"Told me what? What's going on here?" She looked at Kagome helplessly, who only clung on to Sango's shoulders until the initial shock wore off.

Sango licked her lips in concentration, then made a suggestion to her master. "Perhaps you would like me to explain the situation to Rin while you speak with your brother?"

Kagome hesitated, and then nodded. "That's probably best."

Sango helped Kagome to the couch, then took Rin by the elbow and led her into the back bedroom. "Come with me, dear. There are certain things you should know."

Souta watch the exchange with confusion, and once they were alone, turned to his sister. "What just happened?"

Kagome laughed humorlessly and rubbed her temples. "What just happened is that you waltzed in here and told Rin that Sango is a genie. Thanks for that."

"You mean she didn't know?"

"Yes, Souta, I think I will go around and tell everyone that I have a genie living in my house!" Kagome was snapping. She never snapped.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was a secret."

His sister held up her hands, as if only realizing something. "How do _you_ know about Sango?"

He shrugged. "Mom."

"When did she tell you?"

"I've known about the jin for years. Mom wanted me to inherit her, but Grandpa said only you could because I'm not the true heir or something."

If it was possible, Kagome became even paler. "You mean to tell me that everyone knew and didn't feel the need to tell _me_?"

"It's some kind of tradition," Souta commented. "The one to inherit the jin isn't supposed to know ahead of time."

"So I've heard."

"Don't be so dramatic, Kagome." Souta sat down in a chair across from her. "It wasn't like we conspired against you. It was a _present_, a good thing. You should be happy that you were chosen to inherit her. You're the true heir." It was painful to admit the words, like he wasn't good enough to be the heir.

"It's the eyes," Kagome said suddenly. He blinked at her, confused once more. "Sango told me. The only reason I got her and you didn't is because I have the two colored eyes, like Daddy."

He scoffed. "I lost the genetic lottery."

Kagome was moved to sympathy, until she felt annoyance surge through her again. "Souta, why are you here?"

Remembering his mission, he shook his head free of pitying thoughts. "Mom called me. She's worried about you."

His sister sighed and buried her head in her hands. "I wish Mom would leave me alone."

"It's because she cares about you."

"No, it's because she cares about her merger." Kagome pushed her hands through her hair and growled. "You can run back to Mother and tell her that everything is _fine_. Kouga and I are fine. Sango is fine. Everything is peachy. She can stop freaking out over nothing."

"You know, Kagome, Mom loves you whether you want to believe it or not. Like always, you want to play the martyr." Souta got to his feet, shaking his head. "I knew it was a mistake coming here."

"Oh yes," Kagome said, going to the door. "That's me, Saint Kagome. Next time you want to drop by for more family fun, make sure you call."

He shook his head and left without another word to her. Kagome closed the door and leaned her back against it, fighting the urge to cry. She really did love her brother, but it seemed she could never be civil with anyone in her family anymore.

"Kagome!" Rin shrieked, running out of the bedroom and skidding to a stop in the living room. She looked around for Souta, but he was gone, so she surged forward. "Sango's a _genie_!"

Kagome laughed, but that laughing quickly lapsed into tears. Horrified, Rin patted her on the shoulders and tried to think of something to help. "Sango? Sango!"

The jin came when beckoned and went to her master's side. "What happened?"

"They all knew," Kagome sobbed. "They _all_ knew. Why do they always leave me out of everything?"

"Don't weep, Mistress," Sango soothed her. "I'm sure they were only trying to protect you."

"That's what they always do," Kagome sniffled.

"It's okay, Kagome," Rin said, grabbing a handful of tissues and offering them to her friend. "You've got us. We know you're strong."

"Oh, Rin, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you," Kagome said, giving a watery stare to her young friend.

The teen only smiled back. "Don't worry about it."

"Young Miss Rin took my secret rather well," Sango offered with a half-smile.

"I always knew that there was something different about you," Rin said with a wag of her finger. "But boy was I off. Still, it's so awesome, Kagome! You can have any wish in the world granted with a snap of your fingers."

"I'm not good with power," Kagome sniffed. She was calming down now. "All I've ever wanted was a normal life."

"You can still have normal," Rin said, grinning now. "Only...quirky normal."

"What does that mean?" she asked. "It's either quirky or normal. There is no halfway."

"What is normal?" Sango asked. "Everyone has their own normal, and it just so happens that your normal is a little different than other normals. There is no shame in that."

"Oh, thanks you guys."

"You'd do the same for us," Rin laughed.

A group hug was had, laughs were shared, and the kitten went back to being tormented.

* * *

Inuyasha sprawled across his couch, flipping through channels on his big screen TV, not really caring what was on any station. Internally, his mind was racing. Finally, _finally_, Kagome Higurashi had agreed to go on a date with him. But he had no idea what he was supposed to do.

He had expected that a high class woman would want to go to high class places, but Kagome kept subtly reminding him that she hated money and places that attracted people with it. Still, he couldn't bring himself to take her to his usual haunts. Chinese take out from a small, humid store on a corner of the Working District, and cheap movie theaters with sticky floors and stale popcorn was fin for high schoolers on their first or second dates. This was Kagome Higurashi, a woman who stood to inherit more money than his mind could fathom. Money might not matter to her because she had never had to worry about it, but it mattered to him. Inuyasha now had the means to take a woman out to good places. What he was used to was not good enough.

"You look down," Miroku commented. He strolled into the room wearing a pink flowered apron. After he made a crack at Shippou, the unamused teenager ordered the jin to clean the kitchen. The outfit was just a bonus.

"I'm thinking," Inuyasha grunted.

"About what?" Miroku asked, plopping down beside him.

"About where to go on a date tomorrow night."

"Ah, the sweetest kind of work."

Inuyasha leveled a disgruntled look at his jin. "Do you always have to talk like that?"

"Lke what?"

"Like you're Casanova or something."

Miroku chuckled and leaned back on the couch, pillowing his head beneath folded hands. "I can't help having a superior understanding of the fairer sex."

His master grunted. "You're something else, pal."

The jin smiled, and shrugged. "When I was human, it was my job to know women."

"What the hell kind of job is that?"

"Well, it was somewhere between being a con man and a prostitute." He thought about his choice of words a moment, then nodded. "I was originally trained to be a Holy man. It was a kind of tradition within my family, you see. When my parents died, I was still young. My family was in debt and the collectors took our farm, and I soon found myself without money or a home. A man named Mushin found me, and trained me."

"To be a con man prostitute?"

"I was thought to be attractive. I played the part of a lost Holy man and would take refuge in the homes of wealthy families. Young wives and daughters were easily influenced by a pretty face and some attention. I kept them occupied for a night, then took whatever I pleased before leaving."

"Cold, Miroku. Very cold."

He sighed. "I never said I was a nice guy back then, but when you're broke and desperate, you do what you must to survive."

And that, Inuyasha could not argue with. "So what, did some jilted woman curse you or something?"

Miroku smirked. "No, this wasn't a punishment. I asked to become a Jin, of my own free will."

"Why?" A simple question that hung in the air like a matter of life or death.

For a while, Miroku considered skirting the issue. It was not often that he invoked his beloved's name, but he _liked _his new master, and saw no reason to withhold the information. Inuyasha was not the kind of man to use one's weaknesses against them without cause. Surely this man would not belittle another man's actions in the name of love.

"When I was about your age," Miroku began tentatively, "I came to a huge estate. It was bigger and more lavished than anything I had ever seen before. There were rumors in the surrounding towns that the lord of this estate had some kind of magical power that brought him unlimited wealth and good fortune. My curiosity got the better of me and I had to investigate."

"There was a jin in that house?"

Miroku nodded. "I didn't know her for what she was at first. I was in the audience chamber for dinner, and I thought she was just another dancer meant for entertainment, but it struck me as odd when the lord wouldn't let anyone touch her. Back then, dancers were always fair game for guests, even when they were hired instead of slaves. I watched her closely for the rest of the night, and followed her around much of the next day." He smiled and shook his head. "She ignored me completely, even when I made attempts to charm her."

"Immunity?" the other joked.

"I wasn't sure. She intrigued me, which was rare. I became rather infatuated with her, and made it a kind of game to pursue her. A few days turned into a few weeks, and by the time I realized what I was doing, I was already in love with her." This was the part of the tale he always had the most trouble telling, mostly because it pained him to this day. "Jin are not allowed to love, she made that very clear to me."

"Why not? You guys are -- were -- human. What's the problem?"

"A jin has no sense of self. We are slaves to our masters, devoting everything of our souls to the whim of those who own us. When a creature has nothing of themselves, they have no heart, and therefore, no right to love another."

"Bullshit." Miroku was surprised Inuyasha was getting as angry as he was. "Who made up these rules? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

The jin only smiled at his master. "The rules are as old as time, and the magic that enforces them is just as old. It's just one of the things we live with."

"So what happened? Did she turn you into a jin for bugging her?"

Miroku laughed. "She didn't want to turn me into a jin. I had to convince her to do it. The truth is, I knew she loved me every bit as much as I loved her, but it was forbidden. She could have been killed for being with me, so I told her to turn me into a jin like her. That way, I would live as long as she did, until the jin were freed or the rules were changed." He sighed again, wistfully. "I told her I would wait until the ends of time for the chance to be with her."

"Wow...that's corny."

"Says the man who used to stalk the woman of his affections."

"Hey!" They both laughed a little. "What was her name?"

"Hm?"

"Your girl. What was her name?"

Miroku looked up to the ceiling, his eyes seeing a time long ago. He called an image of her to mind; the brown hair, the lavender eyes, and the smile that could stop a man's heart. The only woman he had ever loved. "Sango." A warm silence fell on them for a little while until Miroku could shake off the past. "Come, let us speak of something more pleasant."

"You're gonna help me think of somewhere to take Kagome?"

"Nope." Miroku got up, dusted off the front of his apron and stretched. "You're on your own there, my friend. I should go clean "master" Shippou's room, while he's out."

Inuyasha grinned. "Have fun with that."

"I'm sure I will."

Inuyasha sat back and pondered about what Miroku had told him. He thought about Kagome, and what she was like. He couldn't imagine her being a slave to anyone else, having to give up the freedom she so obviously enjoyed. Nor could he think of what it would be like himself.

_You do what you must to survive._ Miroku's words echoed in his skull, bringing unwanted memories to mind. Memories of what he did when he was living on the streets, of things he had done in his past that he locked away in the deepest parts of his mind. There are times in a human existence, when you are pushed to the very limits of survival, when you are willing to do whatever is necessary to see another day. Things you never speak of, that you'll take to your grave.

He'd been able to save Shippou from that point. It was something that had the power to break a kid, no matter how tough.

He thought about what Kagome might think if she ever found out, and he shivered at the thought.

Inuyasha shook his head and cleared himself of the thoughts. Thinking about those times wouldn't bring anything but shame and fear. He had more important things to think about, better things to do. He forced himself back into his everyday tasks, and eventually, he forgot again.

* * *

Kagome looked through her closet for the third time, and each article of clothing was worse than the last. It seemed like a hopeless venture because nothing she found was good enough. Her closet was filled with sensible business suits and casual jeans. What she wore in front of her mother, and what she wore to lay around the house. Kagome was not the kind of woman who dressed to impress, unless she was forced into it by family obligation.

Now she cursed her lazy fashion sense.

In a huff she stormed to her bed and through herself face down across it. Rin, who had been in the kitchen, came in at the sound of her squealing and sighed when she found her.

"Kagome, are you ok?"

"Eh goath nuffen teh weeh," she said into the comforter.

"Excuse me?"

Kagome lifted her head, blowing a strand of hair out from her face. "I said, I've got nothing to wear."

Rin giggled. "You've got plenty to wear."

"Not on a _date_."

"Since when did you get all 'beauty queen' on me?"

Kagome groaned and flopped over on to her back. "I just want to look nice. I've never been out on a _real _date before. Kouga doesn't count." Rin only laughed harder, causing Kagome to whip a pillow in her general direction. "I'm being serious."

"I know you are," the teen replied. "But in case you have forgotten, you _do_ have a mystical being in the living room who will grant you any wish you please. Just ask her for a new outfit."

"I can't just ask her for new clothes--"

"Of course you can," Sango butted in, coming up behind Rin. "You never wish for anything, Kagome. My magic is going to go to waste."

"I feel guilty," the heiress defended, blushing a little.

Sango only grinned as she pulled back her hair into a high ponytail. "Stand up, my lady."

"Yay," Rin cheered. She dropped herself into a sitting position on the floor. "I think Kagome's best colors are white and green."

"Did your date give you any information as to attire?" Sango asked, rubbing her chin in thought. "Outdoors? Indoors? Formal?"

"Um, he just said to be casual." Kagome didn't like the look in the eye of the other two women. She was starting to suspect that she would soon be made to raise her arms and spin around to the back. "What are you going to do?"

"Just this," Sango said. She curled her forefinger over her thumb and then flicked it off, aiming at Kagome. Suddenly, Kagome's fluffy robe and slippers were replaced by an alarmingly low-cut white dress and heels.

"Ah!"

"Hm," muttered Rin. She wrinkled her nose and then shook her head. "Too much cleavage. Kagome's best asset is her pretty face and her legs."

"I think you're correct," Sango agreed. She repeated the action, and Kagome was now garbed in an emperor's gown in deep green satin. "Perhaps a bit too formal?"

"That looks like a bride's maid dress," Rin piped.

"What are you guys doing?" Kagome squealed. "This flicking thingy is weirding me out!"

"It's a simple spell," Sango rationalized. "I'm simply arranging the matter of one outfit into another."

"Oh, simple you say?" Kagome frowned, defeated. "Can I see something in black?"

"But you wear black every day!" Rin protested. "That's your mother's color of choice." The teenager turned to Sango, ignoring Kagome's protests. "I think she'd be more suited in something short, a skirt or shorts maybe."

"It's too cold for shorts," the mannequin whined.

"Perhaps something tighter on the legs?" Sango asked, blinking a pair of denim jeans into existence. "No, you're correct. A skirt would most suit her, and would be good for any occasion."

This time, Kagome was dressed in a short green skirt and a flattering white top. She had to give them credit as she spun in front of the mirror on her bathroom door; she did look good. "Now I need shoes," she announced, waving bare feet toward the others.

"Uh-oh," Rin giggled. "We've created a monster."

"I am only too happy to oblige," Sango smiled. They went through a variety of colors and styles before settling on a comfortable dress shoe with a chunk, mild heel. Kagome had enough of toe-crushers and heel-hurters.

"How should I wear my hair?" she asked Rin, peering at a couple split-ends among her flowing locks.

"Down," her consultants advised. "It's prettier when you let it frame your face." Rin fluffed it, and let it settle into place. "And all you need is a little lip gloss and you're good to go, sister. You know, it's a crime to be as pretty as you are."

"What are you talking about?"

Rin grinned easily. "You make it look easy."

"Please, I'm no where near my mother."

"You're a different kind of beautiful, Kags," Rin told her honestly. "You're the kind of beautiful that shines out from inside."

"Did you read that on a fortune cookie?" They stuck their tongues out at each other and laughed. "You think I look okay?"

"You're gonna knock him on his ass," the younger girl said with a wink.

Kagome turned to Sango, who nodded her assent. "Rin is right. You make a stunning picture, Kagome."

She flashed her mega-watt smile. "Thanks you guys."

Their group hug was cut short by the doorbell. Kagome leapt to her feet, paling as she looked at the clock next to her bed. "Oh my God, that's _him_!"

"I'll get the door," Sango laughed, heading back into the kitchen, and then the living room. She heard Kagome flipping out from the front door, and was still laughing when she opened it. Much like when Shippou first came to their home, Sango appraised the man before her. He was highly attractive, dressed casually in jeans and a button down short sleeved shirt. His hair, an unusal color, was held back at the nape of his neck. Over-all, he seemed clean cut and innocent enough, but one could never be too careful.

Much like when Shippou had first come, Sango liked Inuyasha on sight.

"Hello," she greeted. "You must be Inuyasha. Please, come in." She stepped aside enough to let him come in.

"Thank you," he said politely, stepping into the living room. As he expected, the layout was modest and filled with the finest a cheap garage sale could offer. It was a lot like his old place, and he liked that. He turned back to the woman who had admitted him and smiled. This was Sango, Kagome's roommate. She had spoken of her often, and Inuyasha was determined to give a good first impression. "You must be Sango."

"That's me." She took his offered hand for a shake. "Kagome will just be a minute. She was having a wardrobe malfunction."

"It's not a problem." He would have said more, but it was in that moment that he noticed the tattoo on the side of Sango's face. A letter in calligraphy strikingly similar to Miroku's own brand. And then he thought back to what Miroku had told him before, about his lost Jin lover. Sango. Things clicked in his brain and he was about to comment on it when Kagome chose her moment to arrive. The sight of her robbed him of the ability to speak, let alone accuse a woman of being a genie.

"Hi," she said, rather shyly. In all honesty, she loved the way he looked at her. Inuyasha didn't fake interest in her because of her last name; he really was attracted to her.

"Hi," he replied, blinking. It was a moment before he gave himself a mental smack. "You, ah, look great."

"Thank you." She blushed a little and moved toward the door. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are," he countered.

"I'll see you later, Sango."

"It was nice meeting you."

"You too," she said, waving and closing the door behind them.

Rin popped out of the kitchen and whistled. "Wow, he's a looker."

"I'm a little worried," Sango sighed.

"Why's that?"

"He's in love with her," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "And Kagome's halfway there herself."

"Oh," Rin replied. "Now I'm worried too."

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks to all for reading. Sorry for the delay between chapters -- I have been hard at work on my costume for the Con here in Jersey. (Yes, I am one of the geeks who dresses up in a costume and parades around a stadium filled with other geeks in costumes.) But seeing as how the Con is on Friday, and my work is pretty much done except for the painting of my sword, I can get back to writing. I have a one-shot coming out soon -- I've been working on it feverishly. And the first chapter of _Behind The Scenes_ is nearly ready. Yay for summer! 


	8. Wish 8

**A/N:** Back again for another chapter of my fun-filled series, Welcome! We're getting into the true meat of the story now. For those who think the end is coming, you are wrong! I'm having too much fun with this drama. Thanks to all the reviewers -- you guys rock! (And I'm sorry to everyone who loved for a Jin in their home and couldn't find one -- if it makes you feel better, I couldn't find one either.) Oh, and a special thanks to Nickelback's song "Far Away" for getting me in the mood to write the date scene. (And another special thanks to my AWESOME beta reader – cattykit – for all her hard work, and getting this chapter back to me overnight. So I could post it before I leave!)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha or anything there in. Sorry, I don't. I just use the characters in my Alternate Universes. All the mythology employed in this episode is my own, so nyah!

* * *

**Wish Fulfillment**

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Things were getting interesting, Kagura was sure of that. Although she was not permitted to leave the interior of her master's property, Kagura was not blind to all that moved outside of her world. Like a prisoner locked inside her cell, she would study the outside through the portals given to her. She was aware of much that happened around her, and always had been for all her millennia of life. In fact, Kagura could not remember a time in her life when she was not good at reading people and places. She had never been innocent or naïve to the world, even when she was still a human.

Naraku sat in his favorite chair, across the room from her, simply staring. Kagura was used to this treatment after her years with him. He didn't stare at her out of any ulterior motives; she knew full well that he saw her as nothing more than a tool. He watched her because she was his closest link to the other Jin, to his prize.

"I'm becoming worried," he said after a while.

"What worries you, Master?" Kagura asked, already knowing.

"The knife and the ring are dangerously close to being reunited, and that would cause problems to my plan."

"If they find one another," the Jin commented, fanning herself lightly. "They will do whatever it takes to be together again. Such is love."

Her master scoffed, reclining his head against the back of the chair. "Foolish sentiments only hinder a brilliant mind and the actions one must use in order to survive."

Kagura bristled, her fan stilling in her hands. "One could say that love is the emotion that makes a creature its strongest. An animal is at its most vicious when defending its young or mate, is it not?"

"You're going to debate me?" Naraku asked, amused. Kagura looked away, her ruby eyes dark with disdain. "I will tell you something, Kagura. I once knew a woman who said much the same to me as you just did."

Kagura perked up at this. Naraku was a man who never shared much about himself when it did not have a double meaning or a way to play to his advantage. Out of all her previous masters over the centuries, Naraku was by far the most brilliant, and the most frightening. "And what did you say to her?" she asked, curious despite herself.

Naraku looked at his arm, the one wrapped by the golden bangle. The small stone inside it glowed. "I told her that if she felt such a love for me, perhaps I could be persuaded."

"I don't believe it," the Jin replied. "_You_, loving something other than yourself?"

He smiled at her, the kind of deadly smile that made a person's blood run cold. "This was a very long time ago, of course. And she's been dead for quite a while."

"Is that why you want the Pendant of Destiny?" she asked, watching him as closely as he had been watching her now. "You want to summon the all-powerful Jin and have him bring your beloved back to life?"

Naraku's smile vanished from his face and Kagura knew that she had guessed right, especially when her master got up and smacked her. "You will speak when spoken to, slave, and not before."

"Forgiveness, Master," Kagura replied, not meaning it. She put a finger to her lip and felt the hole where her tooth bit into skin, but there was no blood, and in a moment, there was no hole. Such was the fate of an immortal.

"You try my patience constantly," he hissed. "When I get the Pendant, I will make sure to lock you in some place where you will never be freed again."

"You say that today, but tomorrow you might change your mind."

"Hopeful, Kagura?"

"I wish you would," she replied, calm as can be. "I wish you would seal me and put me somewhere so deep and so dark that no bastard could ever find me again!" As she spoke, she rose to her feet, defiantly. This was met with another blow, causing her to reel and fall back to the ground.

"You have no wishes," Naraku drilled at her. "You have no desires, no wants. You are a Jin, a slave, and you have no worth at all."

"God gives us worth," Kagura responded. "Men take it away."

"Don't you dare start with that again," he warned, glaring. "Honestly, Kagura, I don't understand how a creature like you can believe in such a thing as God and religion. You are an unnatural, devilish thing."

"I was a woman once, like any other," she commented. Though, like many things in her life, it was not until after she became a Jin that she found religion. "And Jin or woman, I still have a soul."

He merely scoffed. "You're such a pathetic idiot that I pity you." Kagura was silent, her ruby eyes burning a hole in the floor. "I will be going out tonight."

She wanted to ask where, but didn't. He would tell her as he always did, because she was the only one he ever spoke to.

"It seems that the girl with the ring and the boy with the knife have begun a kind of romance." He was amused with this, but it simply made Kagura's stomach turn. If the two masters were becoming involved, it was only a matter of time before Sango and Miroku were reunited. And that was the very thing Naraku was counting on. "I expect you to be a good girl, and stay here."

"I am forbidden to leave," Kagura replied. "I must obey."

"Very good. You see, Kagura, if you just listened once in a while, you might find your existence to be more pleasant."

She gritted her teeth. "Yes, Master."

He laughed, pulling his long black hair into a tail. "How do I look?"

"You want my opinion?"

"No, I just felt like asking." Laughing even harder, he grabbed his coat and walked out of the door. With a slam of the front door, Kagura was left alone in the dark again. For a few minutes, she fumed. She pulled her fan out from the folds of her kimono, fanning herself as she paced around the room.

"The situation is becoming dangerous," she whispered aloud after a while. Shaking her head, Kagura walked to the kitchen. Although she was forbidden to leave the property in body, there were other things she could do. She took a bowl from the cabinets in the immaculate kitchen and filled it with water, careful not to spill any as she placed it flat on the counter. Kagura was patient if nothing else, and she waited calmly until the water stilled enough to look like glass.

As she waited, Kagura untied the front of her garment, opening her kimono enough to expose the flesh of her stomach, and the black calligraphy K scrawled into her skin. When the water had settled, she touched her finger to the mark on her skin, causing it to throb once, then touched her finger to the water. As it rippled, a picture began to form along the surface.

Miroku came into her view. He looked the same as he ever did, dressed in the fashions of the day, laughing with a young boy with red hair. He seemed well, happy, but then Miroku had always been the kind of man who could handle a Jin's life. He was easy-going and smart, and he was given only the worthy to serve, as his punishment. Kagura had to blink back tears as she touched the water again, making his image fade. Were she to watch too long, he would feel her.

The water rippled again and a new image began to appear. Sango, as lovely as ever, went about some daily chores. Always the care-taker, fulfilling her promise for eternity. Kagura sighed, watching her, regretting and yet not. Suddenly, Sango stopped washing her dishes and turned, looking for something that wasn't there, and Kagura knew that she was sensing her spell. Quickly, she touched the water a third time and dissolved their connection. Sango had always been a sharp one; that was why Kagura had offered their bargain and turned her into a Jin those centuries ago.

When the water settled for a third time, two people came into view. One she knew to be Inuyasha, the boy she had tricked into accepting the Blade of Worth. The other, she recognized soon enough to be Sango's mistress. She possessed the tell-tale sign, the two different colored eyes. Just like Kohaku. As she watched them, Kagura felt pity welling inside her, and guilt. It was because of her doing, because of her master, that their lives were in danger.

Kagura lifted the bowl and pouring the water back into the sink. "O my God, I am sorry for my sins," she prayed, sighing. "In choosing to sin, and failing to do good, I have sinned against You. I firmly intend to make up for my sins and to love as I should."

The water was gone, but she still stood there. "I can't let this happen," she voiced, knowing in the core of her being at her desire to see her kin could not overwhelm her. There were much bigger, more sinister, forces at work here, and her petty wishes could not put before others. "I will stop this. Amen."

* * *

"Winter or summer?"

"Winter. Lake or ocean?"

"Ocean, definitely. Coke or Pepsi?"

"So Coke. Coffee or tea?"

"Coffee!"

Kagome and Inuyasha walked down the sidewalk chatting amiably about random things to pass the times. Inuyasha had opted to walk rather than bring a car. It was a clear, warm night, the perfect evening for a walk. Even as they walked together, there was a slight air of awkwardness about them. The shyness that came with a first real date.

"You drink a lot of caffeine?"

"You think I normally come this bubbly?"

"My idiocy is showing," Inuyasha joked, grinning. "What was your best cup of coffee?"

She thought for a minute. "My favorite coffee is from the newsstand in my mother's building."

For a minute, the smile on his face fell. "What?"

Unsure of his mood change, Kagome continued undaunted. "When I was younger, I'd hang around the building all the time. The old man who used to run the stand, I think his name was Myouga, he'd make me his "special brew" all the time. Absolutely the best coffee I ever had." Thinking aloud, Kagome linked her hands behind her back and stared up at the darkening sky. "There was a boy who worked at the stand sometimes when I was younger. I didn't know his name, but he made great coffee too."

Inuyasha blinked, shocked. A boy working for Myouga? That had to be..._him_. But he didn't remember ever seeing Kagome until she started working there a year ago. He opened his mouth to ask more about it, but decided not to. It would be too suspicious if he started asking questions about some boy who worked at a newsstand how many years ago.

"What about you?"

"Hm?"

"Your best cup of coffee?" She looked at him expectantly, blue eyes wide and friendly. He sighed inwardly at just how pretty she really was.

"Oh, uh...I'm actually more of a tea drinker."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he said a bit sheepishly. "My mother was a big tea drinker, so I picked it up from her. A good brew with a little bit of honey, that's all I need."

"You would never strike me as a tea drinker."

Inuyasha blinked gold eyes at her. "What makes you say that?"

Kagome only giggled in response. "So, tell me where we're going?"

"It's a secret," he insisted. In all honesty, it had taken him a long time to decide just where to take Kagome Higurashi on a real, honest-to-goodness date. He was still a little embarrassed about where he actually picked, but he knew that she would enjoy it. Kagome was very young at heart, completely innocent and pure. He had also noticed little things about her from their lunches and talks that helped him make an ultimate decision.

"Fine, fine," she mumbled with a smile, pleased in spite of herself. "Are we getting close?"

"It's just a few blocks away," Inuyasha assured her. "The first corner of the Working District."

"Oh I _love _the Working District," Kagome said excitedly. "The best stuff always comes from there."

"Yeah. It's where I grew up."

She turned to him, grinning again. "That must have been fun, with so much always going on."

"There was never a dull moment," he agreed. They lapsed into silence for a few moments, each waiting for the other to say something. Inuyasha dubbed this as good a time as any to comment on his almost-discovery. "So, your roommate, you've lived with her a long time?"

"Sometimes it feels like forever," Kagome replied.

"Really?"

"I feel like I've known her all my life," the heiress admitted. "She's an old friend of the family, but we've only been living together for a little while. Kind of like you and your brother, you know?"

"Yeah," he nodded. One of their many random conversations had been the subject of brothers: Inuyasha and Shippou verses Kagome and Souta. "She just...reminds me of someone I know," Inuyasha pressed on.

"Maybe she just has one of those faces," Kagome stated, her tone beginning to sound defensive. He was about to continue his questioning, to get to the bottom of it, but they had reached their destination and Kagome released a giddy squeak of excitement. "Carnival!"

He snorted and smiled a little. "Yeah, they have one every year."

Laid out before them was a three-block long street fair. The roads had been closed off for the festivities. Booths of games and food and shops lined the sidewalks. A nearby park had been set up with rides and a large tent had been pitched over a dozen picnic tables. A thousand people, at least, scurried around the streets, their arms loaded with prizes and tickets and cotton candy. Kagome began bouncing on the balls of her feet, eager to join them.

"Surprise?" Inuyasha offered. He would never admit how long it had taken him to decide on this place.

"Fabulous surprise," she commended, grabbing his hand. "Let's get started."

"Okay," he laughed. "Where do you want to start?"

"Anywhere and everywhere," she replied.

"Anywhere in particular?"

She thought for a moment. "Food?"

"Food it is." And just like that, their conversation about Sango was halted.

Kagome was thankful for it, and did her best to dodge the directness of what he was asking. She hated to lie, but she would protect Sango no matter what. For some reason, his questioning of her was unnerving, and it made her think that it was time that the two of them come up with a concrete story behind their shared residence. It would help in such situations.

They began with light, funnel cakes and lemonade. Inuyasha made a kind of challenge out of it, to see who could eat the most junk food by the end of the night. Kagome, all one hundred and twenty eight pounds of her, never gave up a challenge, especially when it came to sugar.

"God, I haven't been to a carnival in years," Kagome sighed, delighting as lime ice melted on her tongue from the snow cone in her hands.

"Really?" Inuyasha made short work on his own; cherry flavor, because cherry was a man's flavor. "My brother and I come to this one pretty much every year. He loves pantsing everyone at the frog toss game."

"I _love _the frog bog," she announced, scanning the booths in the general area. "My Dad taught me the secret to the perfect toss when I was ten years old. I could totally beat your brother."

"Hey now, _I_ taught him his frog tossing skills. You're looking at a master."

She gave him a withering look. "I smell a challenge."

"I prefer to call it a test of skill."

"I prefer to call it you getting your butt kicked."

Inuyasha felt his metaphoric hackles rising, the scent of competition wetting his appetite. "You'll regret those words."

"Nope," was her sassy come back. Then she grinned and pointed. "Look, there is it!"

The Frog Bog, set up in all its glory, sat off to the side. In the center was a small circular pool with bowls floating around in the water, pretending to be lily pads. Around the pool in a square were the walls of the booth, three catapults to each side. People would stand there, trying to catapult three rubber frogs into the bowls for prizes. It was more a game of good timing and aim than chance, and there were a few "regulars" who called the booth home.

Kagome and Inuyasha took catapults on opposing sides of the booth, each slapping their three dollars down on the counter like pros. They received their frogs from the portly, smoking man with a change apron and a scowl. Inuyasha held each frog in his hand, judging their weight. Kagome placed one on her catapult, adjusting the angle at least ten times before picking up the small rubber mallet. Both of these acts were for show, of course, to try and psych out the other. In the end, all they could do was aim, judge, and smack.

Inuyasha's first frog went wide, it's rubber legs hitting the bowl, but then falling into the water. Kagome laughed at him as he started cursing under his breath. Her fist frog fell short of the mark, missing the lip of the bowl by half an inch. Inuyasha's second frog sailed clear over the bowl, evidence of his embarrassment and temper. Kagome's looked like it was going to go it, but then hit the inside of the bowl and bounced out. Both of them got their third frogs into their bowls, and they cheered as if they'd won a million dollars. The prize was a small stuffed frog for each of them; blue for Kagome and green for Inuyasha. They then traded frogs to commemorate their accomplishments.

"You have some skill," he relented as they headed back out into the fray.

"I could say the same for you."

"What would you like to do now?"

"Hm." She looked around for a few minutes, then spied the next task. "How's your aim with a water gun?"

"Why do you ask?" He already knew full well her intentions, but he liked the spark in her eye and wanted to tease her.

"I see some clowns with our names on them," Kagome told him, grabbing his arm again and tugging him over to the next booth.

They took their spots, gun numbers six and seven, and waited for others to join their game. When the lot was full, the buzzer went off, and they began squirting a jet of water from a stationary gun into the target -- the mouths of ancient clown dolls. Stuffed animals adorned each target as well, rising higher when water was sprayed into the target. After a few moments of anticipation, the buzzer went off again and the number seven clown started blinking. Inuyasha had won.

Kagome hopped up and down, clapping her hands together, when the both operator came over and asked which prize he wanted. "Hell, I don't know," was his reply. "Kagome, you pick."

She picked a small white dog with pointy ears and yellow eyes.

"It kinda looks like you," she giggled, holding it up for a comparison as they walked around some more.

"Ha ha. What should we do now?"

"You pick something."

There was a moment of indecision: Inuyasha was raised to be careful around women, since he wasn't that great with them to begin with. His experience, limited as it was, had taught him that most women liked being independent in this world, and didn't require a man's opinion in most things. Mrs. Higurashi was certainly like that. But Kagome only smiled at him patiently, _wanting_ him to decide what they would do.

"How about that?" He asked, motioning towards the Test of Strength machine. He had always liked those things, where you hit a pad with a mallet to see if you could make a small metal ball shoot high enough to ring a bell some ten or fifteen feet from the ground. Although it was one of his favorite games, he wasn't quite sure how his date would like it.

Kagome, once again surprising him, lit up when she saw it. "Aw, cool!" And so they sauntered over and waited for their turn. Inuyasha stepped up and hit the pad lightly, only making the ball rise nine out of the fifteen feet. Lights went off and people cheered, but Kagome only squinted at him. "I can hardly believe that was your best," she declared, grabbing the mallet from his hands and shoving him out of the way. Her best made it to twelve feet. "See? Even _I _got higher than you."

"It must have been an off hit," he defended.

"Then try again," she dared, waving the mallet between her hands.

His pride in question, Inuyasha snatched up the mallet and tried again. Years of back-breaking labor for Myouga and years of back-breaking labor for his newsstand, had made him more than a little strong. In fact, it didn't take a great deal of effort to ring the bell. Lights blazed, people cheered, and the operator offered him yet another stuffed prize.

"See? I told you!" Kagome laughed, as Inuyasha lugged the huge stuffed dolphin around with him. "You should always give your best."

"Did you get that off a greeting card?" he joked.

"Nope, just something my Dad told me."

He was a little envious of her for that, for having memories of her father when he didn't, but that wouldn't dampen his mood. "What do you say to sitting down somewhere?" he asked, hefting his prize on to his shoulder.

She giggled again. "Why don't we go on a ride? They have a Ferris wheel!"

"Excellent notion," he agreed. "Quick!" He fished out a five from his pocket with one hand. "Go buy some popcorn and I'll meet you at the Ferris wheel."

"What's the popcorn for?"

"You'll see."

Without anymore questioning, Kagome shrugged and did as she was told. There was a long line for their ride, but they got on after a short wait. Inuyasha left his jumbo dolphin on the ground since it couldn't fit in the car with them. As they rose from the ground, Inuyasha grinned and took a handful of popcorn from the bag in Kagome's hands. She watched him curiously as he began tossing it over the side of the car, onto the people still waiting in line on the grown.

"What are you doing?"

"Livening up the line," he laughed. "Try it."

Unsure of why, or why not, Kagome did. The people below were unsure where the raining corn was coming from, and so they were looking everywhere. Some small kids were running around, trying to catch it in their mouths, screaming about how it was raining popcorn.

"I take it you've done this before?" she asked, laughing.

"It's tradition," he replied, tossing a double handful over the side. "Fun?"

"Fun," she agreed. "I haven't had so much since college!"

"I'm glad I could provide such a service."

"You provided it beautifully," she assured him, grinning hugely. By the time their ride was over, they were out of popcorn. They laughed madly at some of the people waiting in line who had no idea there was popcorn in their hair.

They played some more games, and when they won, Inuyasha gave the prizes to some kids that were hanging around. They stuffed themselves on more food and brought it under the tent to eat on the picnic tables. Nearby there was a local band set up, playing cover songs into a few old amps. Kagome dragging Inuyasha to his feet after a while, insisting that she could never respect a man who didn't dance. He wasn't the best dancer in the world, but he thought he did rather well.

"Thank you for bringing me here," Kagome said as they swayed to a slow song. "It's been a long time since I was out."

"Thanks for agreeing to come out with me," Inuyasha replied. "You had me worried for a while. I didn't think you liked me."

"I do!" she quickly exclaimed, then colored. "I mean, you're a good person, and very good at what you do. Plus you saved my life."

"You should let that fact go," he said. "You make me think you only put up with me out of gratitude."

"Oh no, I put up with you because you're cute." Then, she put a hand to her face. "Oh God, I said that out loud."

Inuyasha, who was grinning like the devil, didn't mind at all. Physical attraction was the first step. He could have dated a dozen girls for just that reason, but he had wanted something more lasting. The fact that his dream girl was attracted to his looks gave him hope that she would eventually like his personality too. Then it would be an easy thing to make her fall in love with him.

They danced a little more, and wandered around some too. When the carnival began winding down for the night, Inuyasha walked Kagome home.

"You had a good time?"

"Yes."

"Think you'd want to do it again sometime?"

"Why, Inuyasha, are you asking me on a second date?"

"It appears that way."

Kagome, blushing and feeling her heart beat just a little too fast, smiled over at him. "I'd really like to go out with you again."

His face lit up, surprised by just how relieved he felt. "What are you doing Friday?"

"No plans as of yet."

They had reached her building, but neither really seemed to notice. They were in that haze that came before a kiss; a little nervous, a little eager, feeling their heartbeats in their throats. "Kagome?"

"Hm."

"Would you mind if I kissed you?"

She blushed a bright red and laughed, a real hand-to-mouth laugh. "You ruin the moment when you _ask_."

"Well, I _am_ about to kiss my boss's daughter. Didn't want to rush her." He tried to play it off as a joke.

"Is that all I am, the boss's daughter?"

"Hell no."

"Then you can kiss me."

There was that tense little moment when he battled with indecision before leaning in. Her eyes were closed, her head tilted, ready and waiting. He was a hairsbreadth away from finally being able to kiss Kagome Higurashi, the girl who had fueled his fantasies for the past year, when her porch light when on. He jerked back and her eyes opened. They turned to see Sango open the door, leaning against the frame with a small frown and a cocked eyebrow.

"Busted," Kagome sighed. Smiling a little at her Jin before turning to Inuyasha. "I'm sorry."

"I, uh, don't worry?"

She smiled and went up on her tip toes so that she could kiss his cheek, then walked to her door. "I'll see you at work. Goodnight, Inuyasha."

"Goodnight," he replied as she went inside.

Sango lingered for a moment, watching Kagome move into the living room before turning back to the former paper boy. "Be careful of what you're getting yourself into," was all she warned.

Inuyasha, who had not snapped back to his senses, watched her with a shrewd look. "That's a nice tattoo."

He saw it then, the flicker of shock and then the quick shuttering of her emotions. And he knew, just _knew_ in that moment, that this was _the _Sango. She didn't say anything else, only shut the door, but he nodded. Miroku would like to hear about this, that was for sure.

* * *

"That was very close, Kagome," Sango commented as she watched her mistress happily dump her plush prizes on the couch.

"Oh, you sound like my mother."

"It's not a joke."

"I know, I know."

"Do you think it's fair, to lead him on like this?" Sango sat down on the floor, watching Kagome toss her shoes aside in different directions. "You know that his feelings for you are genuine."

"That's what makes it wonderful," Kagome said, falling back on to the couch. She caught up the small white dog into her arms, tweaking its ears. "I've never been with anyone who just wanted to be with _me_. Not because of my last name, or my mother's money. He just wants to be with me, Kagome."

"But you're getting _married_ in a few months," the Jin pointed out.

The vapid smile faded from Kagome's face, replaced with melancholy. "I know."

"If you let it happen, you'll break this boy's heart."

"It's only a few dates, just some fun--"

"He's in love with you. Tell me you haven't noticed." Kagome hid her face behind a layer of hair, pulling inside of herself. "I know you care about him."

"It's just a crush," she argued. "It's nothing serious."

"Kagome."

"How do you know this? Are you a mind reader now?"

Sango didn't shrink from Kagome's anger; it was something she was far more used to than kindness. "I've been around for many years. I can see it on him, on you. Love is one of the only things in this world that is stronger than magic."

"It's not _love_," Kagome denied. "It's nothing like that. We just have a good time together."

"But it could be more than that if you aren't _careful_."

"I have permission," she whispered. This was a statement meant to reassure herself, to lull her guilty conscience. "Kouga said it was okay."

"It's never okay to hurt people, Kagome. Never." The heiress sniffled once, twice, and then Sango was sitting beside her. She pulled the weeping girl into her arms, rocking her lightly. "Things are so complicated in this world that we sometimes lose sight of simple things. The people we trust are meant to help steer us."

"I'm not a ship," Kagome said. "If I am, then my mother and brother jumped overboard years ago."

"Then I will help you," Sango replied. This girl, this master, felt so much like another. So many years had passed, so many lifetimes had ended, but Sango was still bound to this life, to this family. She was bound to this girl. "I am here, I exist, to help you, Kagome."

"I just want things to stop being so _hard_."

"I would be lying if I said life got easier."

"I know." Kagome hung on to Sango for dear life. "But I can still dream, can't I?"

"Always and forever."

They were silent a long time, allowing Kagome time to collect herself. Sango let her think, running her fingers through Kagome's hair as the girl kept her head resting on the Jin's shoulder. "When did Rin go home?"

"She was collected around ten," Sango replied. "Something happened after that, however."

"What?"

"I think..." she paused, unsure if she should burden Kagome with this, but deciding it was best to give her something new to think about. "I think there is another Jin awake right now."

* * *

"Miroku!" Inuyasha shouted as he came in the front door.

Shippou, who was lounging on the couch, looked up. He was covered in orange powder, all that was left of a bag of Cheetos, which lay empty on his stomach. "What's up?" the vegging teen asked.

"Where's Miroku?"

"I gave him the night off." Shippou sat up, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "We got into a kind of war and I think I made him use too much magic because he got kind of pale and woozy, so I told him to rest."

"Oh."

"Why, what happened?"

"Nothing that children should hear," Inuyasha replied, poking Shippou in the forehead. "Go back to your cartoons."

The redhead swiped at his roommate with orange fingers, but eventually did go back to his cartoons when the commercials ended. Inuyasha went to his room, closing the door and kicking off his shoes as he pulled off his shirt. If Miroku was down for the night, he should rest up too. First thing in the morning, he would tell his Jin about the tattoo, about Sango, and about Kagome. The more he thought about it, the more sense things made. How wealthy the Higurashi family was, how their businesses were always untouchable... the work of a Jin!

Suddenly, like a wave of nausea, Inuyasha felt a pull at his stomach. His eyes felt heavy and his head felt light. All he wanted was to lie down and sleep. Stumbling forward a little, he reached the bed in time to collapse across it, leg hanging off the side. The second his head touched the mattress, he was out.

Blackness covered him, everything was quiet and dark. Then, from the darkness, came a figure. It was blurry at first, like a bad image on a TV screen when the wind was blowing the antenna too hard. But then it came clear.

The old woman from the novelty shop where he got Miroku's knife. Inuyasha wondered why he was dreaming about that old hag when she suddenly morphed from old and bent to young and hot! Tall and beautiful, this woman held a fan up to her chin and smiled coyly, her red eyes bright. "Hello, Inuyasha."

"Holy _shit_." Inuyasha was suddenly aware of himself, as if in the third person. He rubbed his eyes and pinched himself, but he didn't wake up. "Who are you?"

"I'm a Jin, of course," the mysterious woman responded. "But you may call me Kagura."

"Where am I?"

"You're dreaming." Kagura opened her fan, blew a little air at him, and he was suddenly sitting down in a throne-like chair. Then she closed the fan and it disappeared as if it had never been there. "I've invaded your subconscious."

"What do you want?"

"I'm here to give you a message," was her reply. "My current situation does not allow me to physically leave my confinement, but I am able to link my consciousness to your subconscious."

"You mean you... hacked my dream cycle?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

Dream-Inuyasha covered his face with his hands. "Too weird."

"I'm sorry, this is rather sudden." She sighed, pressing her wrist to her forehead, pushing her bangs up. "I just couldn't let you do it."

"Do what?"

She looked at him sharply. "Tell Miroku about Sango."

His gold eyes widened and he suddenly leapt to his feet. "So it _is _true! The Higurashi's use a Jin!"

"Of course it's true," Kagura said waving her hand as if it was a trifle affair. "Sango has served that bloodline for over a thousand years."

"Unreal..." Then he shook it off and looked at her meaningfully. "If you know them, why can't I tell Miroku that Sango is awake and nearby? He loves her!"

"Oh, I am aware of that," the Jin commented. Her fan was back, and she was using it absently. "But they cannot meet again, not now. Not when I am awake as well, or terrible things could happen."

"Like what?"

Kagura frowned and, moving faster than he could anticipate, whacked him on the head with her fan. "Pay attention, I'm getting to that part."

"Ow! Well get to it then!"

Still frowning, she opened her hand above her head. In the area of her palm, floating just above her skin, was a small violet ball of light. "This is the Shikon Jewel."

"Okay, Jewel... got it."

"You should be aware of it," Kagura schooled. "Part of it is in Miroku's knife, the knife _you _released him from."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that, out of everyone else in this wide world, at this very moment, you are the only one worthy enough to possess the Blade of Worth, and all of Miroku's power. Congratulations on that, by the way." The sarcasm was lost on Inuyasha as he collapsed back into the chair, more confused than ever. "The Jewel," Kagura continued. "It is a thing that exists beyond the Basis."

"What's the basis? What does any of this _mean_?"

The makeshift Jewel puffed out of existence and Kagura sighed. "You're so impatient!"

"Sorry!"

"Miroku really didn't tell you anything about Jin, did he?"

"Just the basics." Dream-him felt like an idiot, so real-him would probably be worse off.

Kagura took sympathy on him and sighed. "In the beginning, Jin were not what you think of us as." She opened her fan once more, waving it to an empty space of darkness. Suddenly, there was a patch of earth and a group of people cheering. A little ways above them was a woman, dressed in animal furs, holding up a dead bird. After a moment, what was once dead, took off from her hands and into the sky. "Our people began as humans with great power. They were often considered holy, blessed with a might that was beyond most imagining."

The image faded back into darkness and Inuyasha's gaze went back to Kagura. "These people were mortal, and their power was also their downfall. Using it too often would kill them, and it is a far different thing to heal oneself than to heal others. So these mortals began to change. Fewer were born with powers, but they became stronger and lived longer. And they were even more revered. They became a new race, one of great power that passed, not through blood, but through human desire. A wish, a promise, meant the difference between a normal human existence, and something more. Great power, and a life of servitude."

Other images flashed around Kagura, men and women of different races and stations, performing miracles. "Then came the day of Reckoning."

"What is that?" Inuyasha asked, hardly daring to breath.

"Magic is not as much supernatural as you would believe," she commented. "Everything in life, from gravity to rain, comes from one thing." He stared at her, transfixed, about ready to ask. Kagura only smiled sadly. "_Belief_."

"That's it?"

"That's all it takes." She fanned herself lightly. "The belief of a single person can change the world. Look at religion or government. When one person believes, it can become two people, and four people, until it is a fact of life. Three thousand years ago, magic was a fact of life. No one questioned it, because it was believed by everyone. That is the Basis, the one rule that governed everything."

"What happened on this...Reckoning day or whatever...?"

"It was around two thousand years ago, perhaps a little before, when people began to rationalize everything," Kagura commented. "Science became fact, and magic became fancy. When people stopped believing, our powers began failing. The Basis was destroying us from the inside out. Around a thousand years ago, the oldest and strongest of the Jin forged the Shikon Jewel with the last of her magic and life. It was something that was meant to live beyond the Basis, to exist without belief by Mankind."

She conjured the Jewel again, and then Inuyasha watched as it was split into pieces. "The Jewel was severed, and was then crafted into four artifacts. To each of these objects, a Jin would be bound. They would then have immortal life, and would exist even when our legends ceased to be."

In her free hand, the one that had created the Jewel, suddenly appeared the knife. She brought it down to her chest, tossing it into Inuyasha's lap. "That is the Blade of Worth, to which Miroku was tied. Only those with strong hearts and honor can unseal him. That would be you, kid."

Three other objects appeared around her; a golden bracelet, a tiny ring, and a braided pendant in the shape of a tree. "I was bound to the Bangle of the Wicked," she explained, plucking the bracelet from the air. "Your friend, the woman with two colored eyes, she has the Ring of Innocence, Sango's bond."

"What about the other one?" Inuyasha asked.

"The Pendant of Destiny," Kagura commented, touching it gently and watching as it dissolved. "It houses the most powerful of us all. But he is sentenced to sleep for all time, locked away where no one can ever use his powers again."

"Why create the forth object if no one will ever use it?"

"It was a curse," Kagura bit out. "A punishment given to three sinners. But that is not why I came to you."

"Why did you?"

"To _warn _you, that you must not reunite Sango and Miroku. To do so would be disastrous."

"They've been apart for a thousand years," Inuyasha argued.

"I know," she replied. "I was there when they were parted. And I know their love."

"Then why deny them?"

"Because, if they are reunited, then a very dangerous man will be able to use them, and me, to get the Pendant. Then no matter of disbelief, no Basis, no rules, will stop him from destroying everything good in this world." Her face was neutral of all emotion, because she was the right hand of the devil. "He will use them against one another, all to meet his ends."

Inuyasha shook his head. "How can they be used against one another? You're not making any sense."

She shook her head, unable to go on. It was another wish of Naraku's, that she never be able to repeat his plans. "You must believe me when I tell you that he has planned this, all of it, and nothing will stop him from reaching his goal."

"Miroku is my _friend_, I have to tell him."

Kagura shook her head. "I know friendship and affection." She smiled. "I am the one who _made_ Sango." Inuyasha opened his mouth, then closed it. Kagura only shook her head. "You are the Worthy," she said with another of her sad smiles. "I didn't think you'd agree, but I had to try."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm truly sorry," was all she said. Because then she straightened and sighed, and waved her fan once more.

Then Inuyasha was thrust into darkness again, before the buzzing of his alarm clock brought him back to reality. Blinking muzzy eyes, he whacked the device until it was quiet. He stood up, cracking his back and neck, and feeling like someone had kicked him in the face. He shuffled out of his room, passing the living room, and going into the kitchen. Coffee was waiting for him and he happily guzzled a cup.

Miroku was sitting on the couch, smiling as his master joined him. "Good morning, Sunshine."

"Hmph."

"Shippou told me that you were looking for me last night."

Inuyasha sipped his coffee, and then his eyes widened. "Yeah! Oh, I had to tell you something really important."

"What's that?"

He turned, coffee aside, ready to start spilling, but then blinked. What was it he wanted to tell Miroku again? For the life of him, he couldn't remember. He remembered picking up Kagome from her apartment, and their date...what was he forgetting?

"Oh man, I totally lost what I was going to say!"

Miroku smiled, laughing. "That happens. Don't worry, it couldn't have been too important."

"I could have sworn it was."

"Then I'm sure it'll come back to you. In the meantime, tell me about your date."

"Yeah...okay."

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, I know you're mad at me now, lol. But I need the suspense to keep going because I plan this story to be a long one! And now that I have finished this chapter, and am promptly skipping town, I will update again next month when I get home. See ya later, my lovelies! 


	9. Wish 9

**A/N:** No real comment. I was inspired. I will be working on other things too, but I won't make any promises. For the moment, the probability of updates are high.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. Really.

* * *

**Wish Fulfillment**

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Rin sat on the floor of the palace, sighing a little as she dragged the thin stick of charcoal lightly across the page. A black, dusty arch followed her movements, slowly taking on a human shape as she twisted and turned the stick in different angles. Once she brought the edges of the line together, she lifted her tool and blew the extra dust from the paper, leaving a smudge of dust. Look to her side, she lifted a second piece of charcoal from the tin beside her and started the process again. Intently, she sketched a steadily emerging figure.

When the outline was done, she moved the first tin aside and opened a second, revealing a tin of pastel sticks. She chose her colors and continued to work, bluring and smudging her portrait into life.

Rin herself was dressed in her paint-splattered coveralls, her hair pulled back and her glasses in place on the end of her nose. There were dark smudges on her face from where she'd pushed a stray hair from her face, and one on the tip of her nose from an earlier itch. She sat in the very center of an old sheet she had converted into a tarp. Several tins of mediums were scattered around her, each labeled by their fillings.

The tarp and everything on it, including the girl, seemed alienated by the surrounding of the room itself. It was furnished by her mother many years ago. Rin called it the palace because it had a princess theme. Everything, from the walls to the bed to the furniture, was furnished in pink and white. The wood was varnished accordingly, the sheets were silk blends, and the wall paper depicted a princess being kissed by a handsome prince.

Nothing in the room, apart from the tools scattered around her, had been picked by Rin. Everything in the room, apart from the tools scattered around her, disgusted her.

She was so focused on her drawing that she didn't hear the knock on her door, or when it opened.

Kouga, a stark contrast to the pink interior of the palace bedroom, stepped on to the pink carpet and smiled. He loosened his tie and closed the door behind him, stepping on to the edge of the tarp. "It looks just like her," he commented.

Startled, Rin jumped and the blue pastel in her hand zagged out of the line. She sighed and dabbed at it with her finger, smudging it away. "Did you knock?"

"Yup. You were in the zone." He walked over to the bed and sat down, smiling. "It's looking really good."

Rin smiled at her brother and looked down at her drawing. "It's a present for her. I never did give her a proper birthday gift."

"Kagome will love it."

Rin turned up the corner of her mouth and then wrinkled her nose. "It's not as good as I wanted it to be. But then again, it's so hard to capture Kagome. She's so mobile, her face is never still."

Kouga laughed. "Kagome is always in flight, like a bird."

She giggled. "Something like that." She put the picture to the side and gave him a serious look. "Thanks for coming to see me."

"Well, you've been gone so much lately, I haven't really seen you." His smile was a little sad. "And I haven't been around much either. There's so much to do with the merger coming and all."

"And the wedding," Rin added with a wane smile.

Kouga nodded, looking a little nervous. "Yeah...and the wedding."

Rin licked her lips and got up from the tarp, wiping her dirty hands on her coveralls as she went to sit on the bed next to her brother. "There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

"Really?"

Nodding, Rin had to look at her feet. "Well...one of the reasons I haven't been around lately...it's because, well...I've been dating this boy--"

"You've been _dating_?" Kouga's normal smirk was replaced by a tight frown and the laughter was gone from his blue eyes. "And you didn't tell me."

"Kouga..."

"That's why you've been running off to Kagome's every other day, isn't it? Are you even going there, or are you meeting this jerk?"

"He's not a jerk!"

"Then why hasn't he met your family, or once come to pick you up from your home? What, is he scared I'll chase off a fortune-hunter when I see one?"

"Kouga, please--"

"I'll tear him to pieces! He thinks he can just waltz into my baby sister's good graces and make off with a fortune--"

"He doesn't know!"

Kouga halted his ranting and looked at Rin. She was gripping the sleeve of his jacket, smudging it with pastel. Her big brown eyes were filled with tears behind her glasses. Moved to remorse, Kouga reached out and touched her face softly. "What?"

"He doesn't know...who my parents are...or you." She had to look away, and move away from his touch. "I haven't told him about us. He thinks that I live with Kagome and that I'm just a normal public school kid with no money."

Kouga was speechless. "Wh...why the hell wouldn't you tell him the truth?"

Rin sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "Because...I don't think he'll like me if he knows..."

He was truly baffled. "You don't think...a poor kid...will like you if he knows that...you're rich?"

She sighed and shook his head. "You don't get it."

"No, I don't."

"Shippou...that's his name, isn't really fond of rich people." She leaned against Kouga, feeling tired. "His mother came from money, and she abandoned him when he was eight. He thinks that all rich people are selfish and soulless."

"So you'd rather lie to him then tell the little shit he's wrong?"

"Don't call him that!"

"I still can't believe you didn't tell me!"

Rin sighed and looked to the floor again. "I'm sorry."

"Didn't you trust me?"

She quirked a smile. "I didn't trust you not to tear him to pieces. You're like a wolf whenever a guy gets near me."

"You're my sister!"

"You're like that with Ayame too."

His face fell. "Well..."

"And Kagome."

He sighed. "I protect my women."

Rin stood up and kissed her brother on the forehead. "Time is running out, brother dear. And you can't hold on to all of your women forever."

Kouga grabbed Rin's hand in his. "Why not?"

Rin smiled. "Because I'm growing up. Because Ayame's going to leave, and because Kagome is going to marry you. Even though you both hate the idea."

He winced. "I...don't hate the idea." The look Rin gave him spoke volumes and he sighed. "Okay...I'm not exactly thrilled...but it's Kagome. No one had to twist my arm. I've always wanted to marry her."

"Until you fell in love with someone else," Rin reminded.

"Don't use psychology on me, little girl." He grabbed her around the waist and tossed her on to the bed.

Rin laughed and flailed to protect herself. "I'm only telling the truth!"

"Yeah, that's a new thing for you."

They both laughed and Kouga flopped down next to her. "Why are both of our lives always such a mess?"

"Because we're Kasumi children?"

"I guess."

Rin sat up and sighed. "I should get going. I was going to have dinner with Kagome and Sango tonight." Kouga sat up and glared at her. "I mean it!" Rin whined, holding up her hands in defeat. "We were going out!"

"Okay...but I think I might come along."

"Kouga..."

"I haven't been out in a while, and I need to have a few words with our beloved Kagome..."

* * *

"I can't believe that you didn't tell me!"

Kouga had pulled Kagome into the back room and slammed the door, then decided it was a good time to scream at her. His temper was flaring out of control, but Kagome wasn't intimidated in the slightest. She was used to dealing with hot tempers, and Kouga in general.

"Rin's a big girl," Kagome shot back. "It was up to her to tell you she was dating."

"She's my sister and you knew! You knew when we went out the other night! How could you not tell me?"

"It was none of your business!" She stood toe to toe with him and screamed right back in his face. "She asked me to keep a secret, and I did."

"But she's _my _sister, not yours!"

"She will be! In case you've forgotten, come September, she'll be just as much my sister as yours."

That made him pause, then he saw red again. "Don't use that against me!"

"Stop making such a fuss. So she has a boyfriend. So what?"

"Rin is too young for this."

"She's _seventeen_. That's old enough for high school love. And so I let her come over here before they went out and she stayed the night with me a few times. What are you going to do, sue me?"

Kouga pointed an accusing finger at her. "Don't tempt me."

She only laughed. "You can't do anything now. It's done. They're dating. So deal with it."

"Kagome--"

"Kouga, let it go!"

"She's my baby sister..."

"And she's growing up." Kagome reached out and touched his arm gently, looking at him beseechingly. "She's already having a hard time with this, what with her hiding being rich from the guy and all...don't make it worse."

"I just...I'm hurt she didn't trust me..."

"You would have frightened the boy off the second you laid eyes on him."

"Exactly! Then there wouldn't have been a problem."

Kagome laughed and hugged him warmly. "Except that she would have hated you forever." When she pulled back, she smiled at him. "Buck up, okay?"

Sighing, Kouga nodded. "I feel like an old man."

She patted him comfortingly. "No, you feel like a father whose daughter is dating. If this is what happens with Rin, imagine what it's going to be like with your daughters."

He looked up at her seriously. "Don't you mean _our _daughters."

Kagome's smile faded and she nodded. "Y-yeah..." Then she walked past him to the door. When she opened it, Rin and Sango tumbled inside from where they had been pressed against it, listening in. Kagome sighed and shook her head. "What a sorry sight you two make."

Sango blushed and got up quickly, smoothing out her skirt before helping Rin up. "Forgive us."

She smiled and shrugged. "Sure." Then she turned to Kouga. "Can we go to dinner now?"

"Actually...I think I'll just head home."

"Are you sure?" Rin asked.

He smiled at her and nodded. "Yeah. I should just rest now that I have some free time." Working on autopilot, he placed a kiss to Kagome's cheek and then to Rin's. "Have a good night." When he got to the front door, he smirked at them. "Goodnight, girls." Then he was gone.

Kagome pouted. "He had to call us girls, didn't he?"

Rin hugged her, giggling. "Let him have the last word. At least now he knows and I can relax a little."

"Until you tell Shippou the truth," Kagome reminded.

The younger girl nodded, frowning a little. "Yeah."

Sango, seeing the situation turn down, moved quickly. "Come, aren't we going to be late for our reservation?"

Kagome nodded and grabbed Rin's hand. "Smile for me, Rin. We're going to have a girl's night and gush about girly things. Like boys."

Rin smiled and nodded. "Okay."

* * *

Sango waited until Kagome and Rin had gone to the back bedroom to get ready for bed. She listened to them laugh and giggle behind the closed door, putting on their pajamas as they continued the conversation they'd been having all through dinner. Rin had decided to stay the night again. When she was sure neither of them would be coming out for a minute, she went to the kitchen sink and filled a small bowl with water. With the ease of practice, she licked her thumb, placing it first to the tattoo on her cheek, then to the water. Her bond glowed slightly. The water rippled from her touch then an image began to appear inside it.

A dark room. She could make out furniture and a shape reclining on the couch. Her heart beat loudly in her ears as she tried to make out who it was she was seeing. But then there was movement and the figure looked up. Sango gasped, holding her breath as the water suddenly started to boil in the boil. There was a flash of red and the image was gone.

"Sango?" The Jin flinched, turning to look at Kagome. She was standing in the bedroom doorway, a worried look on her face. "Are you all right?"

"Y-yes." Sango swallowed and smiled. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Kagome smiled a little, but looked confused. "Why are you holding boiling water?"

Sango looked down at the steaming bowl in her hands, then poured it down the sink. "I was scrying."

"What?"

The Jin shook her head. "It's a spell...for when you're looking for something. I was searching for any other Jin."

"Did you find any?" Kagome moved to her side, touching Sango's arm comfortingly.

Sango smiled a little. "I think so. I think...Kagura is awake. But she's trying very hard to hide herself."

"Who is Kagura?" Both Kagome and Sango jumped when Rin popped out of the bedroom. She padded toward them, adjusting her nightgown.

"No one," Kagome was quick to say.

Rin only gave her a deadpan look. "Come on. I already know about the Jin-thing. Let me in the loop."

Sango sighed and moved toward the living room, sitting down on Kagome's ugly couch. "Kagura is another Jin."

"I knew it!" Rin said smugly, sitting down on the floor and pulling Buyo into her lap. "So, she's in the city too?"

"I don't know exactly where she is," Sango admitted. "The spell I cast was just to find any Jin awake. She could be anywhere, really."

"But that means you aren't the only one awake," Kagome said encouragingly. "Isn't that a good thing?"

Sango's smile was a little sad. Kagura wasn't the Jin she had been hoping to find. "Yes, it is."

"Is she in a ring, like you were?" Rin asked curiously.

"Oh no," Sango assured her. "Kagura is attached to the Bangle of the Wicked."

"What's that?" Kagome pressed, shivering a little. "Doesn't sound very friendly."

"It's...well..." Sango paused, frowning a little. "It's...her item was a punishment."

"For what?"

Both girls looked at Sango expectantly and she floundered for a minute before sighing and giving in. "She was not one of the original four to be bound."

Kagome blinked. "How'd that happen?"

Sango smiled a little. "Well...one of the first Jin bound was her lover. When she discovered is, she was furious. Anyone bound...was forced to sleep and leapfrog through time, so...she attempted to break his bond and free him."

Kagome winced. "I bet that didn't go over well."

Sango shook her head, smiling sadly. "Not at all. When the other Jin discovered this, she was caught and...let's just say, they didn't terrible things for a very long time. And then they decided to break one of the Jin's bond and force it on Kagura. She was given the Bangle, but it became an instrument of evil. Only those possessing an evil heart can wear the Bangle and summon Kagura."

Rin frowned, shaking her head. "That's insane? Why give someone with a black heart the power of a Jin?"

Sango only sighed and frowned. "It was meant to be a punishment for all time. Kagura would always be the right hand of the devil."

"Poor thing," Kagome lamented. "What a terrible existence."

Sango nodded, but then smiled. "She always said...it was easier to be the devil's servant with hope in her heart, than a doomed angel." The Jin looked at her lap and shook her head. "Kagura never had worries over her own soul. She knows that...she's damned. So she finds it easier to live without a conscience."

"You sound like you know her very well."

"Oh, yes...I knew her very well. She is the one who made me a Jin."

Kagome and Rin both looked at her with wide eyes. Sango knew the questions before they asked her, so she began before they could. "A Jin can only be made a Jin two ways...they are tricked, or they agree to the bond of their own free will. I was not tricked. I knew what I was getting into."

"Why did you do it?" Kagome asked, reaching out to take Sango's hand. "You said...that you made a mistake."

Sango nodded and sighed, though the memory still caused her great pain. "My mother died when I was very young, so my father raised my brother and I alone. We were both heirs to a great line of hunters, as I was telling you. Kohaku, my little brother, was always very gentle. My father...he still believed that we would both be great hunters...but I always knew that Kohaku wouldn't have the will for it. We received a job one day, to kill a very powerful enemy. My father brought Kohaku...mostly to show him what we did, for him to get some experience, even though I didn't want him to come. When we fought the creature...it was very strong."

Kagome stroked Sango's hand soothingly, sensing the Jin's pain. Rin sat quietly, petting the kitten's head and feeling her heart go out to Sango. "It's okay," Kagome told her. "You can take your time."

Sango shook her head. "The creature killed my father," she said flatly. "In my rage, I became careless and was injured. Kohaku came to my rescue and the demon poisoned him." Her tone was very flat.

Kagome sighed and lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Sango."

The Jin shook her head. "I was able to save him and kill our bounty...but Kohaku never recovered. He was dying slowly. For almost a year he was sick and in agony...but I couldn't bring myself to end his pain."

"He was your brother...you loved him," Kagome said softly.

"Yes, I loved him. I loved him more than anything and...I just couldn't let him go." Tears pooled in the corners of her soft lavender eyes.

"Did he die?" Rin asked softly, placing her hand on Sango's knee.

Sango shook her head, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "N-no. No...he didn't die. Because Kagura came to me. She had seen me slay a demon and she knew that Kohaku was sick, so she made me an offer. She could use her power to save his life if I gave mine in return."

Kagome stroked Sango's hair gently. "And of course you agreed. He was your family. So you let her make you a Jin and she saved him?"

Sango nodded. "Yes. My life as a human ended, but my brother was healed."

Rin smiled. "So, the story has a happy ending, right? You were able to save him."

"Yes...I saved him."

Kagome hugged Sango, and Rin shuffled so she could do the same. Sango cried a little as she returned their embraces. "Oh, thank you...I don't know why...I still get so emotional over things that happened so long ago."

"Anything that has to do with family makes you emotional," Kagome said, smiling brightly. "You know enough about us to know that's true."

Sango laughed. "Yes...that is true."

After a while, they ate junk food and watched television. Then Kagome sent Rin to bed, getting ready to follow herself. She paused first, going to Sango and hugging her again. "You're not alone, Sango. You have us now. I know we're not your family, but we still care."

Sango returned the embrace gently but then pulled back from Kagome. "Oh, you're wrong about that, Kagome." She took the girl's hand that wore her bond into both of her hands, looking at the ring. "When I became a Jin, and even after I was sealed, I served only one family. My family."

Kagome furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

Sango smiled wistfully and touched Kagome's hair. "My brother had one green eye and one blue. And he was the first of your line to possess the bond now called the Ring of Innocence. Every generation that ring has passed on, going from child to child. And all of it began with my baby brother."

Kagome's eyes widened from the realization. "So...Kohaku was my ancestor?"

"And so am I," Sango said with a smile.

* * *

"You're quiet today."

Kagome looked up from her lunch and smiled at Inuyasha. "Sorry."

He smiled back at her and shrugged. "Nothing to be sorry about."

"I've got a lot on my mind."

"Feel like sharing?"

She toyed with the spoon in her soup and then shrugged. "I just found out that my roommate is actually my cousin. I didn't know that I had any other family, but it makes me wonder if the rest of my family knew and...decided not to tell me." She looked up at him with a small smile. "They tend to do that."

"Keep you out of the loop?"

She nodded and sighed, leaning on her elbow. "It sucks."

"I bet." He took a large bite out of his sandwich and chewed slowly. "You should ask. And if they knew, you can throw a fit."

Kagome laughed. "I usually do, and they say that's the reason they don't tell me anything."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Families."

"You never talk about yours," Kagome said softly. "Apart from your brother."

He suddenly got quiet and looked to the side. "Not much to say, really. I don't have any other family. Both my parents are dead."

Kagome frowned and reached out to touch Inuyasha's hand. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't worry about it." He turned his hand over and laced their fingers together. She blushed and he smiled. "I didn't know my dad. He was gone when I was a baby, but my mother died when I was fifteen. I had to take care of myself after that."

"That's terrible," she said, her eyes full of compassion.

He fidgeted in his chair, getting a sudden jolt of guilt. Here she was, giving him compassion and honesty and he was lying to her from the get-go. "I do okay. And now I've got Shippou, so it's okay."

"Shippou?" She suddenly felt a lightbulb go off in her head. "I don't think you ever told me his name before."

Inuyasha blinked and shrugged. "His name is Shippou. Why?"

Kagome shook her head and laughed a little. "My friend Rin is dating a boy named Shippou, that's all. It was just a funny coincidence."

Inuyasha's mouth dropped open as he stared at her. "Your friend...Rin?"

Kagome only blinked at him, her brow furrowing. "Yes...my friend, Rin."

"My brother's girlfriend is named Rin."

Kagome stared at Inuyasha. Inuyasha stared at Kagome.

"It could just be...a big coincidence."

"How many people do you know named Rin and Shippou that are dating each other?"

She blushed and shrugged. "We don't know for certain."

"I just don't see how it's possible. Shippou goes to public school, and that's where he met her."

Kagome winced. "Rin goes to public school...because of the art program there."

Inuyasha paled. "Art? So it is the same girl. My brother and your friend are dating."

"This isn't good," Kagome sighed, leaning her forehead on her hand. "My guess is that Shippou hasn't told her he's rich, has he?"

Inuyasha blushed and looked away from her. "No...he hasn't."

"Rin hasn't told him either. She's really a Kasumi, but she goes by her mother's maiden name."

He looked at her with his mouth gaping. "A _Kasumi_? Shit, he aims high."

She giggled. "So do you. You're dating a Higurashi."

"But that's not why I'm dating you."

Kagome colored prettily and looked down at her lunch, smiling. "But that's not why they're dating, either. If neither of them know the truth, they can't like each other for money."

"It really has to be young love."

"That's so tragic..."

"Why?"

Kagome looked up at him with a frown. "When they finally do tell each other the truth, they'll either both forgive each other, or be furious that the other lied. And...Rin tends to have a temper."

Inuyasha winced. "Shippou, too."

She wrang her hands. "What should we do?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm staying out of it."

"You can...do that?"

He shrugged. "Why not? It's not really any of our business. They'll find out sooner or later."

"That's...true."

"What I want to know is how in the hell Shippou's dated a girl for two months and not realized she's a Kasumi."

Kagome blushed again, sighing. "She pretends to live with me at my apartment."

Inuyasha looked up at her, then frowned. "You've been helping her lie?"

She shrugged. "I just...wanted to help her. She really cares about Shippou...and she's petrified that he'll break up with her once he finds out who her parents are."

"But she's lying to him."

Kagome suddenly felt defensive. "Well, he's lying too! This isn't all her fault."

"Yeah, but he's never deliberately lied. He's never brought her to a fake place and claimed her lived there."

Kagome glared at Inuyasha. "How do you know? Do you go on dates with him?"

He floundered. "No...but I know he wouldn't do anything like that."

"Well, he sounds like a saint, then." Kagome got to her feet and fished a twenty dollar bill out of her purse, tossing it down on the table. "I think my lunch break is over." Then she turned and headed for the door.

"Shit! Kagome, wait!" He got up and grabbed the bill, hurrying to the register to pay. Kagome took the opportunity to flee from the dinner. Inuyasha followed as soon as he was finished, but only arrived in time to see her get into a cab heading back to the office.

He kicked himself the entire walk back.


End file.
